NEET, NET rows: How Bihar has gained notoriety for exam cheating

Bihar has hogged the limelight again – not because of its political leaders’ flip-flops but for irregularities in a major medical examination. The kingpin of the NEET-UG paper leak case is believed to be from Bihar.

According to the Bihar Police’s Economic Offences Unit (EOU), Sanjeev Mukhiya, a resident of Nagarnausa village in the state’s Nalanda district, is involved in the leak of NEET-UG question papers. He is currently absconding, an EOU official told The Hindu.

While Bihar was already in the news over the NEET row, the state also made headlines after a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) team probing the UGC NET paper leak case was attacked by villagers in the Nawada district on Sunday (23 June).

The local police said the villagers mistook the CBI officials for “imposters”. While a case has been lodged against 200 people, only four have been arrested so far.

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Over the years Bihar has gained notoriety for its cheating crisis. Let’s take a closer look at how.

Bihar’s cheating incidents

Bihar's quality of school education and cheating in examinations have been a cause of alarm for years now.

In 2013, over 1,600 students were expelled for using unfair means in the Class 10 Board examination organised by the Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB). About 100 guardians who tried to help their candidates were also detained.

Another mass cheating was reported in 2014 when over 200 students appearing for BSEB Class 12 board exams were expelled.

The widely circulated image of hundreds of parents and friends scaling the walls of a school in Vaishali district in 2015 and passing chits to examinees had further defamed the state.

Over 1,600 students were expelled at the time for cheating in the Bihar board exams.

One of the most talked about incidents occurred in 2016 when the toppers of BSEB Class 12 examinations failed to answer even basic questions in the subjects they had excelled in.

Arts and Humanities topper Ruby Rai and Science topper Saurabh Shrestha were thrown into the spotlight after the topper scam emerged. Ruby, who described her subject political science as "prodical science", was arrested by the Bihar Police but got bail later.

Amid the slew of controversies, the Bihar government took measures in 2017 to make the examination process more stringent and cheating-free. However, there were still blatant discrepancies in some cases. The results of the Arts stream topper, Ganesh Kumar, were cancelled within two days after it was found that he was 42 years old and the father of two children. He had claimed to be 24 years old, as per the NDTV report. Kumar, who had scored 65 out of 70 in music practicals, also did not have the answer to basic questions about ‘sur’, ‘taal’, and ‘matra’.

Police check students at the entrance of the examination hall for Class 12 examinations of the Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB) in Patna in 2017. PTI File Photo.

As many as 64 per cent of students had failed in that year’s Class 12 examination after the implementation of strict anti-cheating measures.

BSEB had courted controversy in 2018 when the board barred Class 10 students from entering exam halls with shoes and socks. While it said the move was aimed at preventing cheating, the critics termed the decision “mental torture” for examinees.

Dozens of examinees sitting for the BSEB board exams are expelled nearly every year in Bihar for using unfair means. Several people impersonating candidates have also had run-ins with the law.

Bihar’s learning woes

The never-ending mass cheating problem is just one part of the story. Bihar’s learning woes have also increased over the years.

A comparison between the annual status of education reports (ASER) in 2018 and 2022 revealed that the reading levels of students have plunged.

As per a Hindustan Times (HT) report, the percentage of Class 3-5 children who could read a Class 2 level text was 32.8 in 2018. It dropped to 30 per cent in 2022.

In the case of Class 6-8 children, 63.1 per cent of students could read Class 2 text in 2018, while only 61.3 per cent were found to have basic reading skills in 2022, the report added.

Despite an increase in enrolment rates, low attendance of both students and teachers in schools continues to plague Bihar, a 2022 ASER report released last year revealed.

This came even though infrastructure, midday meal coverage, and other facilities have improved in the state.

ALSO READ: NEET questions leaked: Will arrested aspirants be punished under new anti-paper leak law?

NEET-UG row

The Bihar Police have confirmed the state’s connection to the NEET-UG 2024 paper leak case. According to an India Today report, Mukhiya, the alleged mastermind from Bihar, had accommodated nearly 25 aspirants at a boys' hostel linked to Learn Play School in Patna on 4 May, a day before the NEET exam.

The candidates were allegedly given the leaked question paper and answer sheets at this hostel.

The police’s economic offences unit said an organised inter-state racket operating in Bihar is responsible for this, reported News18.

Senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP Digvijaya Singh addresses a party workers' dharna over the NEET-UG and UGC-NET issue, in Bhopal on 21 June 2024. PTI File Photo

The CBI, which has taken over the probe, has registered an FIR in connection with the 2024 NEET paper leak case. While the UGC NET has been cancelled, the Opposition is demanding the same for the 2024 NEET exam.

Arrests have also been made in neighbouring Jharkhand. Two teachers have also been detained in Maharashtra by the Nanded Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) over the matter.

More details are expected in the coming days as the CBI's probe continues.

With inputs from agencies