PATNA, India, March 20 (Reuters) —Images of Indian students openly cheating on school-leaving examinations under the noses of supervisors have been spread dramatically, inviting ridicule on Twitter and exposing problems in the much-criticized education system of a poverty-stricken eastern state.
On Thursday, the Hindustan Times published a photo of dozens of men climbing up the wall of a four-storey test centre in Bihar state, rested on window as they folded answer sheets into paper planes flown into classrooms.
"Should we shoot them?" asked Prashant Kumar Shahi, Bihar's education minister, addressing a news conference about the cheating scandal. "On average, four or five persons are helping each student use unfair means," Shahi said, adding it was impossible to forbid cheating if parents encouraged their children. The exams are viewed as make-or-break tests that could transform the lives of millions growing up in poverty. Copying is rampant during state-run standardized tests and supervisors look the other way when pupils consult peers via WhatsApp messages on phones or jot down answers from notes stolen into classrooms.
Cheating has been on the rise since the state government offered cash rewards of 10,000 rupees ($160) to lower-class students who were able to answer about half the questions on their tests. This year, more than 1,000 students were caught cheating in three days and have been expelled.
Attempts to chase away family members hanging around outside test centers on Thursday backfired, with people throwing stones at the police who had to retreat. Many parents blame the government and indifferent teachers for Bihar's failure to prevent cheating.
The state government has been accused of hiring more than 400,000 teachers on contract without checking their proficiency. In the last two years, more than 12,500 teachers failed qualification tests, unable to solve questions designed for fifth-graders. "Why blame only the students? Are schools carrying out proper teaching? They lack quality teachers," said Sanjeev Kumar Singh, whose son is taking the tests this year.
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