70 paper leaks in 7 years, 1.7 crore aspirants affected (2024)

Investigations by various news sources revealed over 70 cases of exam leaks, including recruitment and board exams, over the past seven years across 15 states. These leaks disrupted the schedules of 1.7 crore applicants. Evidence from the recent NEET-UG 2024 paper leak, an all-India exam with over 24 lakh aspirants, has highlighted the significant control of the paper leak mafia over exams in India.

UGC NET 2024 was cancelled a day after the exam was held after inputs were cited by the home ministry citing malpractice. The news of UGC NET being compromised coming amidst the NEET UG paper leak fiasco is making students and other stakeholders question the integrity of testing agency NTA. Conducting exams fairly certainly looks like a challenge now.

STATE-WISE IMPACT

Major states like Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, and Gujarat are highly affected by exam leaks. This issue heats up during elections, with parties blaming each other, but it quickly fades once the polls are over. This raises questions about whether politicians and the paper leak mafia are working together.

Paper leaks are not only restricted to major recruitment and higher education exams but also affect school exams. For example, the Bihar Board Class 10 exam papers have leaked six times. In West Bengal, the state board exam paper has leaked at least 10 times in seven years. In Tamil Nadu, both Class 10 and Class 12 exam papers were leaked in 2022. And the list continues.

Rajasthan has been notorious for numerous question paper leaks over the past few years. Between 2015 and 2023, the state saw more than 14 incidents of leaks in various competitive exams. The general knowledge exam paper for recruiting senior government school teachers was leaked in December 2022, forcing the Rajasthan Public Service Commission (RPSC) to cancel the exam. Other notable leaks include the UGC NET and police recruitment papers that were held in the last 2 years.

Gujarat has also faced 14 incidents of paper leaks in the last seven years. These include leaks from the GPSC chief officer exam (2014), Talati exams (2015 and 2016), Teachers Aptitude Test (2018), and several others like the Mukhya Sevika, Nayab Chitnis, Dec Lok Rakshak Dal, and non-Sachivalaya clerks exams.

More recent cases include the head clerk exam (2021), GSSSB paper leak (2021), forest guard exam (2022), junior clerk exam (2023), and sub-auditor paper (2021).

Uttar Pradesh experienced at least nine paper leaks between 2017 and 2024. Notable incidents include the Inspectors Online Recruitment Test (2017), UPTET (2021), Preliminary Eligibility Test (2021), BEd Joint Entrance Exam (2021), NEET-UG Exam (2021), and the Class 12 board exam (2022). The Constable exam leak of 2024 affected over 48 lakh applicants, which is a huge number.

Several other states, including West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Bihar, and Haryana, have also witnessed similar incidents of paper leaks in the last seven years.

LAW AGAINST PAPER LEAKS

Parliament passed a law in 2024 to tighten the control over the exam mafia with harsh punishment for paper leaks. It includes provisions for a maximum jail term of 10 years and a fine of up to Rs 1 crore. Despite such a law, there doesn't seem to be any such impact, which again raises questions about the integrity of exams and officers of different boards.

These laws don't guarantee a restriction on paper leaks with the possibility of taking action only after the leak, but no measure is mentioned for free and fair conduct.

Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, on June 13, dismissed claims of a paper leak in the NEET-UG medical entrance exam, saying that there was "no evidence of a paper leak in NEET-UG" and that the "allegations of corruption in NTA are unfounded."

On June 6, the National Testing Agency had also denied reports of question paper leak, saying that the claims made on social media were "completely baseless and without any grounds".

Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on June 20 alleged that the union government and the Prime Minister had failed to ensure the conduct of free and fair exams, which was jeopardising the future of millions of students.

Addressing a press conference at the Delhi AICC headquarters, the Rae Bareli MP remarked, “It was claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi stopped the Russia-Ukraine war, but how is it that he has not been able to stop paper leaks in India, or rather doesn’t want to stop them?”

Calling the paper leak “an anti-national activity,” Gandhi stated, “The reason behind paper leaks is that the education system has been captured by the BJP’s parent organisation, the RSS. Until this is reversed, papers will continue to be leaked. PM Modi has facilitated this capture.”

FACTORS INVOLVED IN LEAKS

Police investigations into the leaks have revealed that all incidents of question paper leaks involve substantial amounts of money being exchanged in the process. Many instances have also revealed the involvement of government officials, teachers, and even personnel from printing presses in these acts.

Social media plays a crucial role in the rapid circulation and dissemination of leaked papers, reaching thousands of participants almost instantly, most often in exchange for money.

LONG WAIT AFTER CANCELLATION

In many cases, exams are rescheduled a long time after a reported paper leak. This long gap lowers the morale of aspirants, and also affects the future of such students.

In at least 20 such cases, exams were conducted nearly a year after the leak occurred. In six cases, candidates had to wait for two years before the exams were held. In 11 cases, candidates are still waiting for a resolution.

The delay in rescheduling the UPTET exam from 2021 due to a leak incident has undoubtedly caused significant uncertainty and frustration among applicants. In Gujarat and a few other states, students have had to wait for up to two years for their exams to be rescheduled.

UNREPORTED EXAM LEAKS

On many occasions, paper leaks weren't reported on time and people took advantage of the same and landed jobs. Several instances of 'land for jobs' were also reported in states like Bihar, and UP.

Young employees and job aspirants rightly feel cheated by such cases. Moreover, it is tough to trust policemen or doctors who have got jobs after clearing exams through malpractice. Would you be able to put your life in the hands of such personnel?