Introduction
The Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024 (“Act”), which was passed by the Indian Parliament in the budget session and subsequently got President Draupadi Murmu’s assent, came into effect on 21st June, 2024. The Press Information Bureau (“PIB”) notified that the objective of this Act is to “to curb paper leaks, malpractices, as well as organised malpractices in recruitment examinations like UPSC, SSC etc and entrance tests such as NEET, JEE and CUET.” Thus, the Act is directed towards tackling the use of malpractices and unfair means, including paper leaks and disclosing examination-related confidential information that have become prevalent in recently conducted examinations. The pertinent factor that should be taken under consideration is that the enforcement of the Act comes amidst the protests regarding the alleged paper leak and other malpractices incidents in conducting NEET, i.e., National Eligibility cum Entrance Test as well as UGC NET (National Eligibility Test).
The Act, according to the Official Gazette, aims at conducting impartial and fair examinations that stand the test of credibility. The youth and their hardwork deserved to be acknowledged and a proper and transparent examination system shall help to protect their future. With India having more than 50% of its population below the age of 25, there is a crucial need to secure the future of its youth. Prime Minister Modi, in his address during the monsoon session in the Parliament, guaranteed to fulfil these responsibilities to ensure that such malpractices are never repeated, emphasising on the fact that the government has taken “war-like efforts”, by further mentioning that “those who manipulate the future of young people will face the consequences.” Why are these “war-like efforts” needed? The government calls for a “Viksit-Yuva, Viksit-Bharat” (Developed Youth means Developed India), which was the theme for the National Youth Day 2023, but instances such as paper leaks and unfair practices adopted in competitive examinations compromise its integrity, and thus pose a severe threat to tainting the future of India’s youth.
Scandalous Exams – Threatening the Future of The Youth
The NEET-UG 2024 exam which was conducted on 5th May, 2024 came into limelight post the declaration of its result due to the National Testing Agency’s (“NTA”) justification regarding the criteria and the concept of “grace marks”. Also, NTA rejected any such claim of paper leak or cheating with the Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan refuting the allegations of paper leak by saying that “there was no evidence of it.” The Hardayal Public School at Jhajjar in Haryana apparently became “the biggest centre of irregularities” with six out of 500 students who appeared for the NEET-UG 2024 at this centre, getting 720 out of 720 – full marks, as well as two candidates securing 718 and 719 marks, a score that is mathematically impractical to achieve considering the structure of the evaluating pattern of the examination. According to NTA, these grace marks were awarded to the candidates who did not get the opportunity to sit for the entire duration of the exam. The grace marks awarded were based on the suggestion of a Grievance Redressal Committee, which referred to the Supreme Court’s verdict in the case of Disha Panchal v. Union of India, wherein the apex court awarded ‘20 compensatory marks’ to the petitioner. Consequently, with several petitions being filed in the Supreme Court, the Centre notified that it “has decided to revoke the grace marks awarded to 1,563 students in the NEET-UG 2024 exam.” The NEET-UG 2024 scandal has put 2.4 million students’ careers at stake.
Moreover, the concerns raised by the National Cyber Crime Threat Analytics Unit of India compelled the Ministry of Education (“MoE”) to cancel the UGC-NET by citing the reason of ensuring the highest level of transparency and sanctity of the examination process.
The cancellation of such competitive examinations is a part of the larger problem and has raised serious concerns regarding the future of the youth in India along with the deep-rooted lacunas and corruption of the Indian Education System. This is not an unusual problem anymore. It has become an annual cycle of leaks and stress and has created an atmosphere of distrust among the aspirants towards the examination conducting body. For instance, if national level exams like NEET and its results would become controversial, how would the students even trust the examination committee and its procedure. With students raising “anti-NTA” slogans, gathering together, and attempting to march towards the Parliament with banners of “India against NTA”, the proper implementation of the Act has become the need of the hour.
Further, these instances should be viewed in the context of the Indian youth being attracted towards government jobs that promise stability in the little or no flourishing industrial sector, which require students to participate in competitive examinations. According to the International Labour Organisation’s India Employment Report 2024, the country’s youth population accounts for almost 83% of the unemployed population particularly from the states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh with the students from these states being inclined towards government jobs underscoring the need for the fair conduct of examinations for these jobs. Incidentally, these are the states that are most vulnerable to malpractices in public examinations. Thus, competitive examinations have become contentious with issues regarding youth unemployment. These examinations are the main hope for students in order to attain freedom and financial independence. They leave their families, towns and villages, pay a hefty amount for their preparation and coaching, only to be told that their exam has been cancelled owing to unfair means. We also need to learn that a signal of excellent education is a decent and hallmarked examination system as visible in the spotless examinations conducted in the advanced countries.
The Public Examinations Act 2024: Safeguarding Fairness, Eradicating Malpractices
The Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024, the first of its kind, is an attempt to fill the legislative vacuum to check and deter examination-related malpractices. By its enforcement on 21st June, 2024, it has become most probable that the NEET outrage acted as a significant factor and compelled the Central Government to enforce this Act. However, the Act is not retrospective in nature, i.e., it will not entertain the incidents that occurred before 21st June. The need to have such a legislation has become instrumental which can be substantiated by a report of the Indian Express, which in its investigation (“The Big All-India Exam Leak”) regarding the instances of paper leaks, remarked that “Over 5 years, 1.4 crore job seekers in 15 states bore the brunt”.
The Act comes up with certain salient features to prevent the incidences of unfair means in conducting the public examinations. Section 3 of the Act defines 15 actions as falling under the umbrella of “unfair means” which includes any act or omission relating to paper leak, unauthorised access to confidential information, providing solutions to candidates during the examination, tampering the response sheets or any other exam-related database, etc. Subsequently, it also lists punishments under Section 9 for offences which are described as cognizable, non-bailable, and non-compoundable. Moreover, Section 10(1) puts forward punishment with imprisonment for a term not less than three years, but which may extend to five years, and with fine up to ten lakh rupees for any person who resorts to any kind of unfair means or unauthorised attempt to tamper the examination process or result.
The aforementioned provisions of the Act address the necessity to prevent the influence and ascendancy of the education mafias who are the masterminds behind the examination-related malpractices and who enjoy the patronage of the ruling class and have various political and bureaucratic connections, making it easier for them to carry out these illegal activities. Further, the government while acknowledging the importance of investigation for such malpractices has provided provisions for inquiry and investigation under Section 12. It also provides for a stringent monetary fine (up to one crore rupees and/or a four year ban from conducting any public examination) to a “service-provider” under Section 10(2) deterring it from indulging into malpractices.
Post its enforcement, the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions has also notified the rules to carry out the provisions of this Act under the power conferred to it, under Section 16(1). Hence, the Act though being “too late”, tends to promise a secure future for the youth by maintaining fairness and transparency and eradicating malpractices in public examinations.
Gaps and Glitches: The Unaddressed Issues in The Act
Being a potential step towards tackling the instances of paper leak, there still remain several concerns in the Act that need to be addressed. The one significant concern that needs to be addressed is related to the ‘rescheduling of examination’ that has been cancelled due to alleged instances of malpractices. Competitive examinations once cancelled, must be re-scheduled and conducted within a stipulated time. The Public Examinations Act 2024 does not contain any such provision regarding the rescheduling of the cancelled exams and the duration within which they must be conducted. A specified time duration must be provided to ensure that the future of the candidates is not compromised.
In addition to this, Section 12 of the Act provides for inquiry and investigation into matters related to unfair means in exams by an officer not below the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police or Assistant Commissioner of Police. With more than 70 cases of the adoption of unfair means in examinations, these instances have become a complicated issue with each such case having its own specific problem and complexity that needs to be dealt on a case by case basis. This reflects a need for a versatile and a competent committee or a regulating authority that can effectively provide best solutions by investigating the issue within a short time frame.
Moreover, an additional issue lies the Examination Conducting Body resorting to orthodox mechanisms for conducting the examinations. Modern techniques must be encouraged to mitigate instances of paper leaks. Manindra Agarwal, director IIT Kanpur, referred to the importance of AI tools and mechanisms by emphasising on the idea of computer-based tests with ‘any time and any centre’ model. He also referred to online MCQs (Multiple Choice Questions) with ML driven biometric checks, question set encryption and the use of ethical hackers as the potential measure that can be adopted to conduct fair examinations by keeping a check on the usage of unfair means.
Therefore, the government and the judiciary must take such concerns into account so that the future of the students is not endangered and the career of the bona fide candidates is not compromised while the wrongdoers and offenders are punished.
Looking Ahead: The Path to A Fair Examination System
It is often said that a person’s career is not at the mercy of an exam result. However, in India, it does decide the future of the students because the incidences of the usage of unfair means, including the paper leak and cancellations of examinations affect millions of students across the country. Hence, there is a serious requirement to have “NEET & Clean Examinations”. These paper scams have become the symbol of incompetency of the education system which need to be rectified to ensure the safety of the future of India’s youth. Moreover, there must be a gradual shift in how examinations are conducted as this Act will not suffice this issue alone, it must be accompanied by technological advancements in conducting the examinations.
Although hopes have been held high by the Act, its proper implementation and execution and its subsequent efficiency remains a matter of question. The increasing instances of the adoption of unfair means in examinations should act as a clarion call for the effective implementation of the Act. Shielding the lives and career of the youth is crucial since a resented youth is a dangerous weapon that can fall in the wrong hands. The question remains if the Act can bring a noticeable change or not and whether it can protect the future of the youth, the answer rests in the hands of the government.
The post is written by Sayed Kirdar Husain, Student, Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law, Punjab