Context:
Public Examinations (Prevention Of Unfair Means) Act aims to prevent unfair means in the public examinations system.
Relevance:
GS II: Education
Dimensions of the Article:
- Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act
- Public Examination
- Use of Unfair Means
- Rationale for the Law
- Penalties
Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act
Computer-Based Test (CBT)
- Parameters: The rules lay down full parameters of Computer Based Tests (CBT) — from the registration of candidates, allocation of centres, and issue of admit cards to the opening and distribution of question papers, evaluation of answers, and the final recommendations.
- Question Papers: The opening and distribution of question papers involve downloading the question paper from the main server to the local server in the public examination centre, and then uploading and digitally transferring the question papers to individual computers authorised for the candidates.
- National Recruitment Agency: The central government’s National Recruitment Agency will prepare the norms, standards, and guidelines for CBTs in consultation with stakeholders. Once finalized, these norms will be notified by the Centre.
- Norms and Standards: The norms, standards, and guidelines will cover both physical and digital infrastructure and activities, including the standard operating procedure (SOP) for registration of public examination centres; space requirements at CBT centres and layout of seating; specifications and layout of computer nodes, server and network infrastructure, and the electronic platform; candidate check-in, biometric registration, security and screening; setting and loading of question papers; invigilation; and all post-examination activities.
Centre Coordinator
- Appointment: The rules provide for the appointment of a Centre Coordinator for Public Examinations, who may be “serving or retired employees of the Central Government, State Government, Public Sector Undertakings, Public Sector Banks, Government Universities, autonomous bodies, and other Government Organizations.”
- Responsibilities: The Centre Coordinator will represent the public examination authority for coordination of activities of the various service providers and the examination authority, and for overseeing the compliance of all norms, standards, and guidelines for the exam.
- Definition of Service Provider: The rules also define the term “service provider” for the purposes of the Act.
Public Examination
Which Exams Are Covered by the Law?
- Definition: Section 2(k) of The Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024 defines a “public examination” as “any examination conducted by the public examination authority” listed in the Schedule of the Act, or any “such other authority as may be notified by the Central Government”.
- Authorities Listed:
- Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), which conducts the Civil Services Examination, Combined Defence Services Examinations, Combined Medical Services Examination, Engineering Services Examination, etc.
- Staff Selection Commission (SSC), which recruits for Group C (non-technical) and Group B (non-gazetted) jobs in the central government.
- Railway Recruitment Boards (RRBs), which recruit Groups C and D staff in the Indian Railways.
- Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS), which hires at all levels for nationalised banks and regional rural banks (RRBs).
- National Testing Agency (NTA), which conducts the JEE (Main), NEET-UG, UGC-NET, the Common University Entrance Test (CUET), etc.
- Additional Authorities: The central government can add new authorities in the Schedule through a notification as and when required.
- Definition of Candidate: The law defines a “candidate” in these exams as “a person who has been granted permission by the public examination authority to appear in public examination” as well as “a person authorized to act as a scribe on his behalf in the public examination”.
Use of Unfair Means
What Constitutes the Use of Unfair Means for the Purposes of the Act?
- Unfair Means Listed: Section 3 of the Act lists 15 actions that amount to using unfair means in public examinations “for monetary or wrongful gain”.
- Leakage of question paper or answer key or part thereof and colluding in such leakage.
- Accessing or taking possession of question paper or an Optical Mark Recognition response sheet without authority.
- Tampering with answer sheets including Optical Mark Recognition response sheets.
- Providing solutions to one or more questions by any unauthorised person during a public examination.
- Directly or indirectly assisting the candidate in a public examination.
- Tampering with any document necessary for short-listing of candidates or finalising the merit or rank of a candidate.
- Tampering with the computer network or a computer resource or a computer system.
- Creation of fake website and conduct of fake examination, issuance of fake admit cards or offer letters to cheat or for monetary gain.
- Reporting Incidents: The rules provide a detailed framework and format for reporting incidents of use of unfair means.
- Venue In-Charge Responsibilities: If any incident of unfair means or offense occurs, the venue in-charge shall prepare a report along with his findings in Form 1 and send it to the Regional Officer through the Centre Coordinator. If a prima facie case is made out for filing a First Information Report, the venue in-charge shall take necessary action.
- Management Responsibilities: If persons below the level of Management or Board of Directors of the service provider resort to unfair means or fail to report the incident, the Centre Coordinator shall report the matter to the Regional Officer in Form 2. The Regional Officer shall enquire and, if satisfied, direct the Centre Coordinator to file the First Information Report.
- Definition of Venue In-Charge: A “person nominated by the examination conducting service provider to supervise, coordinate and manage the activities of different service providers and to ensure that the norms or standards and the guidelines notified for conduct of public examination are complied with”.
Rationale for the Law
- Justification: The ongoing controversy over alleged paper leaks provides an obvious justification for such an Act. Future incidents of the use of unfair means in examinations will be prosecuted under the provisions of the law.
- Investigation Findings: An investigation by The Indian Express found at least 48 instances of paper leaks in 16 states over the last five years, disrupting the hiring process for government jobs and affecting at least 1.51 crore applicants for about 1.2 lakh posts.
- Statement of Objects and Reasons: Malpractices in public examinations lead to delays and cancellation of examinations, adversely impacting the prospects of millions of youth. At present, there is no specific substantive law to deal with unfair means adopted or offences committed. Comprehensive Central legislation is imperative to identify and effectively deal with vulnerabilities in the examination system.
- Objective: The Bill aims to bring greater transparency, fairness, and credibility to the public examination systems and reassure the youth that their sincere and genuine efforts will be fairly rewarded and their future is safe.
Penalties
- Fines and Imprisonment: The new law provides for fines of Rs 1 crore and up to 10 years in prison. It is also expected to serve as a “model draft for States to adopt at their discretion”.
-Source: Indian Express
