Officials crack whip on copying cases, but 'internal nexus' yet to be busted

As district officials, including the Deputy Commissioners and Superintendents of Police, took to field in an attempt to crack the whip on the use of unfair means and copying in the examinations being conducted by the Board of School Education Haryana (BSEH), Bhiwani, reports suggest that “internal” malpractice at some exam centres persists in an underhand manner.

Sources revealing the modus operandi stated that there is collusion between certain staff members and external agents who assist students by providing “help” during exams. This system particularly benefits students who have skipped school throughout the year for preparations for other competitive exams or those students who seem weak in studies. These are often at a significant financial cost as these “facilitators” reportedly charge substantial amounts to ensure “unfair help” to them.

Meanwhile, the BSEH has been implementing stringent measures to prevent unfair means in board examinations. The Board officials informed that 79 cases of cheating has been reported during the ongoing session of examinations and three exam supervisors have been removed for negligence.

Surprise inspections by flying squads uncovered multiple cases of malpractice in districts such as Kurukshetra, Kaithal, Nuh and Firozpur Jhirka. In some instances, students were caught using unauthorised materials, while invigilators at certain centres failed to enforce discipline, the BSEH spokesperson informed.

In Hisar, a case of impersonation was reported at the Government Girls Senior Secondary School in Kaimri village during the Class X English exam today. Authorities caught a young man appearing in place of a student named Yogesh. Upon verification of the roll number and photograph, the discrepancy was confirmed, leading to a fraud case being registered against both the impersonator and the real candidate.

In Jind, duty magistrates have been appointed and a WhatsApp group has been created by the district administration for immediate reporting of malpractice. The number of flying squads has been increased from nine to 20 and a senior officer has been deployed at the sensitive examination centre at Hat village. Officials and staff are required to submit their mobile phones before exams and CCTV surveillance has been intensified to prevent unfair practices.

As per the Board data, in the Class X board exams, cases of unfair means dropped from 1,084 in 2023 to 600 in 2024 and Class XII cases decreased from 1,427 in 2023 to 505 in 2024.