Government Kicks As students Copy Freely Writing Exams Under Trees

The Jharkhand Academic Council has complained bitterly on the high rate of examination malpractice discovered at RS More College.

Mass copying in the open during an examination conducted by the school, Dhanbad district embarrassed the state government, days after chief minister Raghubar Das welcomed students from Bihar to pursue education in Jharkhand.

Citing recent cases of cheating in examination and the toppers’ fiasco in Bihar, Das said on June 27 that students of the neighbouring state could save their career and credibility by studying in ‘education hub’ Jharkhand.

Students of RS More College in Govindpur were found writing a Class 11 examination paper on July 9 under trees on the campus and using unfair means.

“I have come to know from newspapers about large-scale cheating by students at the examination centre and will take action against people responsible,” Jharkhand Academic Council (JAC) deputy chairman Phool Singh said on Tuesday.

The JAC was established for conducting secondary school and Intermediate examinations and for prescribing courses of studies.

“The intermediate examination at the RS More College centre has surpassed the notoriety of the Bihar Examination Board in allowing cheating in examination,” said a professor of the college.

Five to six examinees were also seen sitting on a bench on Monday and copying answers from books. The father of an examinee was caught in camera while writing answers for his son.

“It is a serious matter and after holding discussions with the JAC chairman (Arvind Prasad Singh), a probe will be conducted and action will be taken,” Phool Singh said over the phone from Ranchi.

Taking serious note of the exam cheating, Vinoba Bhave University (VBU) vice chancellor Gurdeep Singh said he would ask the centre superintendent to give a report. The college is affiliated to VBU in Hazaribagh.

Centre superintendent Kiran Singh said there was not enough room for all the students to sit indoors. “The centre has the capacity of holding examination of 540 students at a time. But on Saturday (July 9) the economics examination of science, commerce and arts streams was held simultaneously that led to overcrowding of the centre.”

A nearby school was used for the examination after getting permission of the Govindpur block circle officer, but the space was not enough for more than 1000 students, said Kiran Singh, also the principal of the college.

-Ht