Shutting the cheating window in Haryana

Bhartesh Singh Thakur & Deepender Deswal

On February 27, Sanjeev Kumar, the centre superintendent of Nuh’s Tapkan school, repeatedly instructed Rukmuddin, the supervisor of room number 5, to close the window. Twenty-four students were taking the Class 12 exam. He even repositioned the students seated near the window to the middle of the room. Yet, the window was consistently found open. A similar scenario played out in room number 6, where another 24 students were writing the exam. There, too, Kumar had to repeatedly instruct supervisor Shaukat Ali to keep the window shut.

By 2.35 pm, officials from the Board of School Education informed Kumar that images of the question paper from rooms 5 and 6 had been leaked. The code on the leaked paper helped trace the exam centre, room, and the students involved — all minors.

Kumar promptly got an FIR registered against the three students whose question papers had been circulated. He also accused the two supervisors of colluding with outsiders. In response, the Haryana government not only suspended the two supervisors, but also took action against Kumar. Proceedings under Section 7 of the Haryana Civil Services (Punishment and Appeal) Rules, 2016, have been initiated for a major penalty against all three.

The issue was not isolated to Nuh; the Class 12 English paper was also leaked from a school in Palwal.

It was only the first day of board exams, yet paper leaks and cheating — an ignominious reality in Haryana for years — had already marred the process. With every such incident, trust in the education system erodes further.

On February 28, the Class 10 mathematics exam was scheduled. At Government Senior Secondary School, Punhana (Nuh), things seemed to be running smoothly — until 2 pm, when an inspection team discovered that an image of the question paper had been circulated from room number 2. An FIR was filed against two students and supervisor Mamta. Here, too, the unique code on the question paper helped identify the exam centre and the students involved.

The same day, the mathematics paper was also leaked from Gangtan school in Jhajjar, where the centre superintendent caught an outsider, along with a student. Meanwhile, at Dawla school, a case was registered against both a student and an outsider.

The FIRs in all these cases were registered under the stringent Haryana Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2021, in addition to sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). Under the Act, if a group is involved in unfair means, the minimum punishment is seven years, extendable up to 10 years, along with a fine of Rs 10 lakh. The Act was introduced after multiple entrance exams had been compromised due to paper leaks.

The widespread paper leaks across five centres within the first two days of exams rattled the state government. On March 1, Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini delayed a scheduled press conference. After a few hours, the government announced mass suspensions. Twenty-five police personnel, including four DSPs and three Station House Officers, were suspended, marking the first time that the police faced direct consequences for paper leaks. Additionally, four government school invigilators and two centre supervisors were suspended, with charge sheets initiated against them.

Along with the CM, Chief Secretary Anurag Rastogi and Principal Secretary for School Education Pankaj Agarwal are in action mode. On March 1, the Chief Minister convened a meeting with Deputy Commissioners, Superintendents of Police and Commissioners of Police. He directed that any exam centre found to have external interference would be immediately cancelled, and officials linked to the irregularities would face disciplinary action. Furthermore, under Section 163 of the BNSS, he ordered the police to enforce a 500-metre no-entry zone around exam centres, warning that non-compliance would call for accountability of officers. Any centre that failed to uphold these standards would be blacklisted.

On March 3, Haryana Board of Secondary Education secretary Ajay Chopra was replaced and Additional Deputy Commissioner, Bhiwani, Munish Nagpal, was given additional charge of secretary of the board. On March 7, the government appointed a Charkhi Dadri college principal, Prof Pawan Kumar, as the board chairman and Satish Kumar, Hindi teacher from a Jind school, as vice-chairman. The posts were lying vacant.

According to the Board of School Education, from February 27 to March 6, a total of 250 cases of unfair means were reported across Haryana during six days of Class 10 and Class 12 exams. Nuh alone accounted for 142 cases (56.8 per cent), and Palwal 29 (11.6 per cent).

A case of mass copying was uncovered at a girls’ school in Chang (Bhiwani) on March 5, leading to the cancellation of all exams at that centre. The entire staff was replaced. However, on March 6, no cases were recorded in Nuh and Palwal, thanks to heightened security measures.

“Route charts for flying squads are prepared. The exam centres to be checked are chosen randomly. We are focusing more on centres in interior regions,” says board secretary Nagpal. Officials have also been instructed to upload photos with area coordinates from exam centres on WhatsApp groups, while district-wise nodal officers are appointed to monitor unfair means cases.

Despite such efforts, the problem is deep-rooted. In 2024, Haryana recorded 1,155 cheating cases in board exams. In 2023, the number was higher at 2,511. Every student caught using unfair means has to appear before the Unfair Means Committee for a personal hearing, and while they have the right to appeal, strict scrutiny is applied. Only if the challenge by a student is accepted is his or her case put up before a standing committee for final adjudication.

Conducting board exams in Haryana is a massive undertaking. This year, 4.68 lakh regular students from Class 10 and Class 12 are taking exams, in addition to 41,628 open school and 7,629 private candidates. The state has 1,434 exam centres but only 226 flying squads.

Retired District Education Officer (DEO) Devender Singh attributes the rampant cheating to systemic issues. “Teachers often fail to complete the syllabus. Out of 220 academic days, 80-90 are lost to extra-curricular activities. Due to time constraints, courses are rushed, leaving students underprepared. This creates pressure on students, teachers and parents to secure passing marks using any means. Unfortunately, cheating seems to have become ingrained in Haryana’s culture,” he explains.

In 2015 and 2016, when the government took a strict stance on cheating, the matriculation pass percentage dropped to 48.88 per cent and 45 per cent, respectively. In 2018, around 20 government schools recorded zero pass rates. In 2017, 121 matriculation schools and 11 senior secondary schools had pass rates of 10 per cent or lower.

Parents, particularly in rural areas, also play a role in sustaining this culture. Many prioritise securing passing marks at any cost. “For boys, passing the Class 12 exam is crucial to be eligible for Army recruitment. For girls, a school certificate enhances matrimonial prospects, as families start looking for a match once the girls reach college,” says a concerned parent.

Is the recent crackdown enough to break the cycle of cheating? As authorities continue their efforts, reforming a system where shortcuts have long been the norm remains a challenge.