OPINION: Despite strictness the mass copying in Board exams hollow

Punjab School Education Board (PSEB) should think to switch over to exams through Open Book System

Need of the hour to put a complete ban on the publishing of books in question-answer form by the private publishers

Ferozepur, March 14, 2013:  Every year, Flying Squad teams are constituted, Section 144 is ordered near the examination centers and number of students become victim of mass copying cases but despite all this strictness the check over the mass copying in Board exams are hollow and the education department has to seriously think over to know the real cause of copying during exams. 

About 20,000 teachers have been deployed on duty in the examination centers for the Board exams of 12th class have started from March 11 and 10th class exams from March 12 in which about 3.50 lakh and 5.60 lakh students, respectively, are appearing in the annual exams.

The Punjab School Education Board and Education Department have constituted hundreds of Flying Squads to keep a check on the copying during the exams and senior bureaucrats of education department and Board including the Education Ministers have inspected the examination centers.  About a dozen officers have been placed under suspension and hundreds of copying cases have been made and at about six examination centers, the papers have been cancelled.  Despite all these measures, the tall claim of Education Department and Board are hollow so far as mass copying during exams is concerned.

The orders of promulgation of Section 144 and police arrangements in rural areas is not at all seen with the result the staff deployed at the examination centers looks to be fed up from the policies of the Education Department and Board as how can team of 7-8 persons inside and outside the examination centers can control the hundreds of students besides controlling the crowd outside the examination centers?

On the other hand, the recommendations of officers and political pressure are increasing the mental tension of the teachers at the examination centers. 

As per the sources, on the basis of reports, about ten flying squads are inspecting and raiding only one centre and lot of time of the exam period is wasted in search operation.  In fact, the bureaucracy of Education Department and Board is trying to become a hero by making the maximum number of copying cases but least bothered about the real cause of the copying during exams.  The strictness  during the exams with the frequent visit of flying squads and strictness,  the intelligent and hard working students are also being affected. 

To remove the copying practice in Punjab, the majority of teaching community is also trying to raise this issue so that Punjab School Education Board should also organise the exams as per CBSE pattern of home system upto 10th class and open book system for 12th class exams. 

Commenting on the reasons of non-stopping of copy during the exams, Jaswant Singh Gill, Punjab President, Education Reforms Committee, state spokespersons Hans Raj and Raj Kishore Kalra have said that the decision taken by the CBSE is need of the hour because the experiment of taking exams has been completely successful through Open Book System by Guru Gobind Singh Study Circle.  Before switching over to this new system,  the Punjab Government, first of all,  should put a complete ban on the publishing of all material in question-answer form by the private publishers.  The pass percentage of 33 per cent should be enhanced to 40 per cent and the basis of examination should only be the text books of the board.  The question-answer should be arranged in such manner whose readymade solution is easily possible.  In such a situation, only the intelligent and hard working students could be able to solve the questions from the open book and those who are in the habit of copying would not be able to get through even with the help of the book.

As per the sources, sometime back the issue of introducing the open book exam system and making it the basis of education system because of its successful working in foreign was also under hot discussions but still the old practice is being repeated.  Now the question is as to whether in the coming session, the Punjab Government would continue to work on the old system or is successful in controlling the snake like copying during the exams.

(Disclaimer: The views expressed by the author in this article are his own and do not necessarily reflect the views of City Air News.)