The incident has received widespread attention after Indian television footage showed parents and friends of students scaling the outer walls of school buildings to pass cheat sheets to students inside taking exams.
More than 1.4 million 10th graders are taking the tests at more than 1,200 high schools across the state. They face tremendous pressure because they must pass the exams to continue their education.
Teachers and state education department officials supervising the examination caught hundreds of students who had smuggled in text books or scraps of paper for cheating.
"It’s virtually impossible to conduct fair examinations without the cooperation of parents," said P.K. Shahi, Bihar’s education minister. He said it was not possible to monitor the 6 million parents and others who accompany the students to the examination centers.
State authorities posted police at all schools where examinations were being held, “but we can’t use force to drive away the parents,” he said.
Nearly two dozen parents were detained after they were caught helping their children, but were released after several hours.
On Friday, the high court in the state capital, Patna, ordered the Bihar police chief to ensure that examinations are conducted in a fair manner.
State education authorities have canceled examinations held at four centers after they received reports of large-scale cheating.
Bihar School Examination Board Secretary Sriniwas Tiwari said students caught cheating could be barred from taking the exam for up to three years, ordered to pay a fine or even sent to jail.
Cheating seems to be particularly widespread in Bihar, although there have been no reports of anyone being sent to jail for the offense.
In a developing economy like India, education is a precious commodity.
With more than 1.2 billion people, proper schooling could hold the key for much of the population to get out of a vicious cycle of poverty.
Earlier this week, a father in the city of Mathura was caught strapping his 8-year old daughter to a motorcycle after she refused to attend school to take her assessment.
Tied with a multi-strand rope to the back of a bike, onlookers captured images of the trussed girl, her bare feet hanging low, scraping the asphalt.
One father, desperate to get his daughter to sit her exams, lashed her to his motorbike to make sure she got to school.
One father, desperate to get his daughter to sit her exams, lashed her to his motorbike to make sure she got to school.
According to local police officials, the girl's parents offered her several incentives, such as chocolates and toys to entice her, however when the girl was still reluctant, her father decided to take matters in his own hands.
After photos started making the rounds on social media, police officials took the man into custody and charged him with "breach of the peace." He is now out on bail.
"Even after he got out, the father showed no remorse. He has five children to feed and he believes the only way they can get out of this poverty trap is through education," a senior police official handling the case told CNN.
The flaws in India's education system are well-documented. The country has a literacy rate of only 74%, compared to 95% in China. Women suffer particularly badly here; only 64% have formal education.
Earlier this year, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a nationwide campaign urging parents to send their children, especially daughters, to school and properly educate them.
According to the United Nations, India has the largest youth population in the world, with more than a quarter of citizens aged between 10 and 24.
No comments:
Post a Comment