Amid the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic, when the government is finding alternatives to continue education and is promoting online teaching and e-learning, some students have adopted new ways to cheat in the online examinations.
According to news reports, students from various IITs (Indian Institute of Technologies) have indulged in new cheating techniques by creating several WhatsApp groups to discuss question papers, browse the internet on a separate device, talking over phones etc.
In October, the Ministry of Education had set up a 10-member committee led by Bhaskar Ramamurthi, Director, IIT-Madras. The committee has been asked to suggest steps to develop a common protocol for online examinations. The other members of the committee are Directors of IIT-Kanpur, IIT- Bhubaneswar, IIT-Delhi, IIT-Bhilai, NIT- Suratkal, NIT-Durgapur, IIIT-Sri City, IIIT-Guwahati and IISER Mohali.
Due to the COVID-19 situation, the IITs have decided not to hold physical classes till the year-end.
According to a report of The Indian Express, some students who appeared for an online exam, had formed WhatsApp groups where they used to share answers among others. A similar incident also took place at IIT-Bombay, IIT- Kharagpur and IIT-Ropar too, where the students took breaks to cheat in the exam.
However, the IITs have laid down certain measures to curb cheating in the online exam but it could not become so effective. Most recently, IIT-Bombay had cancelled an examination conducted on November 22, 2020, after reports emerged of cheating.
In a few IITs, the administration has also adopted the method of ‘Remote Proctoring’, where an invigilator examines the exam on live cameras. At IIT-Delhi and IIT-Ropar, there were lengthy question papers, so that the students do not get the time to discuss answers.