Bihar: Parents Help Class 10 Students in Mass Cheating, Climb Walls To Pass Answers

The use of unfair means in the ongoing state matriculation exams has literally scaled new heights in Bihar with over 500 students caught and expelled in just two days and the state education minister saying the government couldn't alone conduct completely fair exams.

Cheating in exams was prevalent, particularly in rural areas, Bihar education minister PK Shahi admitted to reporters after an image of parents perched at various levels on the wall of an examination centre in Vaishali trying to pass notes to students inside went viral on the web. The Board's special examination cell also said seven parents were arrested in the past two days, in addition to the 515 students expelled for cheating.

"It is impossible to hold completely fair examination without the cooperation of the parents. There are over 1.4 million examinees and with each of them there are usually three-four people. Managing six to seven million people is not a cup of tea for any administration. It requires parental and societal support as well," Shahi said.

He appealed to parents to not indulge in such practices but said reports of cheating in exams were common in all parts of the country, not just Bihar, adding that chief secretary Anjani Kumar Singh and police chief P K Thakur had been asked to further tighten arrangements.

Around 1.43 million students are appearing for the class 10 state board examinations this year at 1217 centres, many of which are allotted a large number of students without commensurate infrastructure to accommodate them. The school-leaving examinations are marked by violence and wide-spread use of unfair means that include parents and friends writing answers for examinees, often guarded by armed men.
Experts, however, pointed out that the problem lay with the poor quality of teaching and the pattern of examination.
"After all, unless they are taught in schools, how can they be expected to answer? Just passing the test should not be the goal, but unfortunately that is the mindset," said former board chairman Rajmani Prasad Sinha.
Another former board chairman AKP Yadav said the current situation was the result of a cumulative effect of a series of problems, such as irregular teaching, lack of quality, shortage of teachers and inadequate arrangement on part of the board.
"Students are in a dilemma about the exam pattern and syllabus, while the serious ones, who do it by themselves or are fortunate to be in better off schools, have to suffer," he added.