In Haryana boards, cellphones inside hollow cardboard, Bluetooth-device in turban
Left red-faced after widespread reports of mass cheating in successive board exams, the Haryana education board has upped security this time. But the young, tech-savvy students have left them one step behind. Students have been found smuggling mobile phones in cardboards and Bluetooth devices in turbans into exam halls. But Jagbir Singh, board chairman, insists they are prepared to deal with such cases.
Suspicious authorities were quick to nab the cheaters
In Rohtak's Farmana, a Class-10 student was caught with a cellphone inside his hollow cardboard on Friday. "The cardboard was thicker than usual, and made the flying squad suspicious," Singh said. In Karnal, a Class-12 student hid a Bluetooth device inside his turban. Though authorities were suspicious, they couldn't act since it was a religious issue, but nabbed him when he tried using it.
Families pass chits, students openly copy, teachers dictate answers
While such methods might be rare, non-tech cheating modes are common in the Haryana board exams. Friends and family have been seen climbing walls to hand over chits to their relatives, teachers have been caught on camera dictating answers, and students are known to openly discuss and solve problems together. "Some students devote more time in planning to cheat than actually study," Singh said.
452 cheating incidents registered this year till now
This time, Section 144 has been imposed in several places. Activities like photocopying, faxing and using internet have been banned near exam centers. "The board has enough manpower to deal with (cheating) students. Recently, at a center in Jhajjar, we hid live cameras to catch students copying," Singh said. Till now, the board has registered 452 cases of cheating. Exams end on April 8.
