Upcoming Government Exams Bill 2024
One of the growing concerns in recent years is the issue of exam paper leaks, which pose a significant threat to the overall ethics of educational systems.
Every 2-3 years state examinations are conducted, but instances of these paper leaks either lead to cancellations or postponement of these exams.
Usually, exam paper leak involves, someone sharing the test question papers without permission or authorization before or during the exam.
A recent example of West Bengal’s upcoming Government exam in which Madhyamik’s question paper went viral through social media platforms.
This unscrupulous practice not only weakens the fairness of the examination but also deteriorates the trust and credibility placed in educational institutions.
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What is Public Examinations? Prevention of Unfair Means Bill 2024
Minister of State for Personnel and Training Jitendra Singh introduced the Prevention of Unfair Means Bills, 2024 on Monday in Lok Sabha.
This bill was introduced to deter persons, organized groups, or institutions that indulge in biased tactics and harm the upcoming government exams public examination system.
The bill has rigorous provisions against cheating, which also include a minimum jail term of three years and a fine of up to Rs 1 crore.
Students in several states have been affected in the past due to examinations getting cancelled which includes paper leaks.
Currently, there is no specific law to deal with deceptive practices or offenses committed by various entities involved in the carrying out of public examinations by the central government and its organizations.
Union Minister of State Mr. Jitendra Singh mentioned some important points in the bill…
- Directly or In-directly assisting the candidate in any manner in the public exam
- Manipulating with a computer network, computer resource, or a computer system.
- Illicitly sharing exam questions or answers secretly.
Several exams that will be covered under the new bill are…
- Union Public Service Commission (UPSC)
- Staff Selection Commission (SSC)
- Railway Banking Recruitment Examinations
- All computer-based examinations are conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA)
Mr. Jitendra further said the Public Examination Bill aims to deter such iniquitous elements; meanwhile, the sole aim of the bill is to bring greater clarity, fairness, and reliability to the public examination systems and to reassure the youth that their authentic and genuine efforts will be fairly rewarded and their future is safe.
The committee shall look into developing a protocol for protecting digital platforms, creating strong security for Information Technology security systems, ensuring electronic surveillance of examination centers, and setting national standards for both IT and physical infrastructure to be deployed for the conduct of such tests, the minister said, PTI reported.