Lok Sabha passes Bill to curb job exam malpractices

During the discussion, several members, including Union minister Jitendra Singh and Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhary, referred to The Indian Express investigation report published on Tuesday

The Lok Sabha passed the Bill after rejecting some amendments proposed by opposition members. PTI

The Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Bill, 2024, which aims at preventing malpractices such as leaking of question papers, tampering of documents and tampering of computer networks in public examinations, was passed by Lok Sabha on Tuesday.

While the Bill, which has provisions for jail term up to 10 years and a fine of over Rs 1 crore, seeks to punish officials or organisations that indulge in such malpractices, students or candidates will not come under its purview, clarified Union minister Jitendra Singh, who piloted the Bill.

During the discussion, several members, including Singh and Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhary, referred to The Indian Express investigation report published on Tuesday. The report looked at 41 documented instances of question paper leaks in recruitment exams across 15 states in the past five years, and how it affected more than 1.4 crore candidates.

Story continues below this ad

In fact, BJP MP Satya Pal Singh brought in a copy of The Indian Express and showed it in the House. When some members asked him to stick to the contents of the Bill, Jitendra Singh said since the article was related to the Bill it should be permitted. Kodikunnil Suresh, who was in the chair, said the member could not show the paper to which the minister responded that it could be quoted instead.

Don't miss | Exam paper leaks: Mounting cases, aspirants affected, parties have made it an election issue

In his response, minister Jitendra Singh said that such malpractices happen across states. “It has been reported from 15 states, everyone has read today. It happens everywhere. In fact, while introducing the Bill I deliberately named Jammu and Kashmir also,” said Singh, who is an MP from the Union Territory. He said there were also some states such as Rajasthan where there was an administrative deficit leading to several instances being reported from the state.

Discussing the Bill, many members, including NCP’s Supriya Sule, referred to the “jami jamai vyavastha” (well-entrenched system), as mentioned in the recent movie “12th Fail”. Responding to this, the minister said that the Bill is actually meant to act on this.

The members also questioned the need for a separate Bill when such malpractices were already covered by provisions of the IPC and the new BNS. Singh said that the Bill was meant as a specific legislation that has clearly defined provisions for only such malpractices in examinations.

Story continues below this ad

Many members also asked how new technology driven malpractices will be handled, to which the minister said, “It is not part of the legislation so I did not mention, but when we formulate the rules, we have been thinking of creating a committee of experts who can do surveillance from time to time, help us understand, and update it from time to time, and also bring in uniformity. ” He said the number of aspirants has increased and there is a need to increase the number of vendors as well because sub-letting leads to loopholes.

The minister also responded to DMK member DM Kathir Anand, who said the government not conducting examinations in regional languages could be one of the reasons why cheating takes place. Singh said: “Our government has started examinations in 13 languages, including Tamil. We hope to gradually include all 22.”

The minister said meritorious students cannot be sacrificed due to malpractices.

Anonna Dutt

Anonna Dutt is a Principal Correspondent who writes primarily on health at the Indian Express. She reports on myriad topics ranging from the growing burden of non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and hypertension to the problems with pervasive infectious conditions. She reported on the government’s management of the Covid-19 pandemic and closely followed the vaccination programme. Her stories have resulted in the city government investing in high-end tests for the poor and acknowledging errors in their official reports. Dutt also takes a keen interest in the country’s space programme and has written on key missions like Chandrayaan 2 and 3, Aditya L1, and Gaganyaan. She was among the first batch of eleven media fellows with RBM Partnership to End Malaria. She was also selected to participate in the short-term programme on early childhood reporting at Columbia University’s Dart Centre. Dutt has a Bachelor’s Degree from the Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication, Pune and a PG Diploma from the Asian College of Journalism, Chennai. She started her reporting career with the Hindustan Times. When not at work, she tries to appease the Duolingo owl with her French skills and sometimes takes to the dance floor. ... Read More

Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram