We’ve all heard of cheating students passing notes during exams, but what happened in India last week…well…read on.
Over 600 students were expelled and about 300 people – many of them parents - arrested in India after reports of widespread cheating during major exams being held in the state of Bihar.
Astonished onlookers took snaps of the students’ parents and friends climbing school walls to pass on answers to the students inside.
More than 1.4 million Year 10 students are taking the tests at more than 1,200 high schools across the state. Adding to the pressure, the students are unable to continue their education if they do not pass the exam.
Bihar Chief Minister, Nitish Kumar, condemned the cheating, warning parents that parents who participate in the act “would only harm them in the long run”.
State Education Minister, PK Shahi, cautioned that the huge number of students involved make it difficult to address the problem on a large scale, questioning the Government’s responsibility over such a task.
"Three to four people helping a single student would mean that there is a total of six to seven million people helping students cheat," Shahi said.
"Is it the responsibility of the government alone to manage such a huge number of people and to conduct a 100% free and fair examination?"
Bihar School Examination Board secretary, Sriniwas Tiwari, said students caught cheating could be barred from taking the exam for up to three years, face a fine or even sent to jail.
Although cheating appears to be particularly widespread in Bihar, there have been no reported cases of anyone being sent to jail for the offence.