THE PUBLIC EXAMINATIONS (PREVENTION OF UNFAIR MEANS) BILL, 2024
1. Context
The Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Bill, 2024, was introduced in Lok Sabha on Monday (February 5), and passed on February 6. The Bill aims to prevent “unfair means” in order to “bring greater transparency, fairness and credibility to the public examinations system”.
2.Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Bill, 2024
- The 2024 Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Bill, presented by Union Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh, outlines various offenses, including the leakage of question papers or answer keys, unauthorized assistance to candidates, and tampering with computer networks.
- The bill also addresses the creation of fake websites for deception or financial gain, conducting fake examinations, issuing counterfeit admit cards or offer letters, and manipulating seating arrangements and scheduling to facilitate cheating.
- Under this proposed legislation, individuals or entities engaging in unfair practices could face imprisonment ranging from three to five years and fines up to ten lakh rupees.
- Additionally, service providers contracted by examination authorities may be fined up to Rs 1 crore, and the proportional examination costs will be recovered from them. Such service providers will be prohibited from participating in any public examination responsibilities for four years.
- The bill defines a service provider as any entity engaged by the public examination authority for conducting exams, encompassing agencies, organizations, businesses, and other entities.
- It also includes measures to combat organized gangs, mafia elements, and malpractices, holding government officials accountable for collusion. Offenses such as threatening or obstructing the conduct of public examinations are punishable under the proposed law.
- The bill prohibits unauthorized individuals from entering examination centers with the intent to disrupt tests, emphasizing the detrimental impact of malpractices on the aspirations of countless yout
2.1. Objectives
- The bill's aim is to enhance transparency, fairness, and credibility within public examination systems, providing assurance to the youth that their genuine efforts will be justly rewarded, ensuring a secure future.
- It is designed to effectively and legally deter individuals, organized groups, or institutions engaging in various unfair practices that negatively impact public examinations for financial or wrongful gains.
- Under the proposed legislation, a candidate, defined as an individual authorized by the public examination authority to participate in the public examination, including someone authorized to act as a scribe on their behalf, will not be subject to legal action.
- The bill is intended to serve as a template for states to adopt voluntarily. This approach is expected to assist states in preventing criminal elements from disrupting the conduct of their state-level public examinations, as outlined in the objectives and reasons of the proposed law.
- The investigation of any offense mentioned in the proposed Act is assigned to an officer not below the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police or Assistant Commissioner of Police
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Which are the Exam Boards Covered in the bill?
The proposed legislation encompasses recruitment assessments carried out by various entities, including the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), Staff Selection Commission (SSC), Railway Recruitment Boards (RRBs), Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS), and the National Testing Agency (NTA). It also includes the ministries or departments of the central government, along with their attached and subordinate offices, responsible for staff recruitment. Furthermore, any authority designated by the central government for the administration of government job recruitment falls within the scope of the bill
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3.What is meant by the use of “unfair means” in an examination?
- Section 3 of the Bill enumerates a minimum of 15 actions categorized as the use of unfair means in public examinations "for monetary or wrongful gain."
- These actions encompass activities such as the "leakage of question paper or answer key or part thereof" and collusion in such leakage, the unauthorized "accessing or taking possession of question paper or an Optical Mark Recognition response sheet," and the "tampering with answer sheets including Optical Mark Recognition response sheets."
- Additionally, the section addresses offenses like "providing solutions to one or more questions by any unauthorized person during a public examination" and "directly or indirectly assisting the candidate" in a public examination.
- Furthermore, the section outlines actions such as "tampering with any document necessary for short-listing of candidates or finalizing the merit or rank of a candidate," "tampering with the computer network or a computer resource or a computer system," "creation of fake website," and "conduct of fake examination, issuance of fake admit cards or offer letters to cheat or for monetary gain" as prohibited acts
4.Way forward
Overall, the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Bill, 2024, is a significant step towards addressing the issue of cheating in public examinations in India. However, it is important to ensure that the law is implemented effectively and does not infringe on individual rights
Source: Indianexpress
