The recent ongoing NEET Scam has once again raised serious concerns for the integrity of such entrance examinations and educational sector as a whole.The education sector stands at a critical stage today calling for review and reforms to safeguard future to students.
This necessity is highlighted by the frequent exposure of educational scams that not only tarnish the sector’s reputation but also hinder the progress of nation. This blog delves into the need for review of education laws in India, highlighting key scams and proposing necessary reforms.
India continues to face numerous problems concerning its medical education system especially in the examination corrupt systems. Over 600,000 students were forced to write the All India Pre-Medical and Pre-Dental Entrance Test (AIPMT) a second time after the apex court cancelled the examination following widespread cheating involving a syndicate. This network had been using sophisticated technology to transmit answers to the candidates, and within the same year arrested so many students and barred 46 students from writing their exams.
At the same time, a profounder scandal was disclosed in Madhya Pradesh, stating that many of the applicants gained an opportunity to enter medical schools without passing the entrance examination and this was possible by paying money to certain intermediaries who found individuals willing to take their places in examination centres and provided fake documents. This led to more than one thousand people to be arrested and show that hundreds of students had been admitted despite their being fake.
These problems have been widely blamed on the criminalisation of medical education through miscreants in the Medical Council of India (MCI), the private colleges and local politicians. Specifically, the MCI has been accused of having weak regulatory structures and framework which has culminated into the ventured corruptions that have worsened the quality of medical education and subsequent health services. Some ideas proposed to eradicate these characteristics included the carrying out of a national entrance test and restructuring of bodies like KNEC but most of these ideas have been slow to be implemented.
Not only medical education but school education and other fields too have become the victims of the frauds and scams. To mention some, Vyapamscam of Madhya Pradesh which came to light in 2013, Bihar’s Toppers Scam which came to light in 2016, SCC Examination Scam of 2018 and many others.
Current Legal Frameworks
- THE RIGHT OF CHILDREN TO FREE AND COMPULSORY EDUCATION ACT, 2009.
- THE UNIVERSITY GRANTS COMMISSION ACT, 1956.
- THE ALLINDIA COUNCIL FOR TECHNICAL EDUCATION ACT, 1987.
- THE NATIONAL MEDICAL COMMISSION ACT, 2019.
Apart from these acts, the government even issues advisories like that of against ed-tech scamsin 2021. Here, the ministry encouraged members in the education system to carefully select ed-tech services by considering several recommendations. These are as follows-getting subscriptions from companies that do not require automatic debiting of account, always teasing terms and conditions, and doing some type of research about the ed-tech company and its contents. Parental controls must be enabled and the guidelines supported by PRAGYATA child protection rules should be adhered to. Stay away from frequently believing the ads, especially the unknown loans, registering cards on the apps, or sharing the personal data or videos. They should also be wary of ‘‘success stories’’ should not provide a bank account detail. Citizens were urged to utilize free e-learning resources provided by the government in accessing quality education.
Apart from these, the Indian Constitution by (Eighty-sixth Amendment) Act, 2002 added Article 21-A to provide free and compulsory education for children of the age of 6-14 years in India can be categorized as positive Discrimination. They include right to free and compulsory education for every child between the ages of 6 and 14 years, which is implemented through the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009 that empowers each child with quality education without any fee, except in non- governmental schools. It enjoins the state to establish, fund and support admission, attendance and completion of elementary schooling for every child. The RTE Act has laid down norms for functioning of schools like maximum strength for a class, physical facilities and infrastructure facilities well qualified teachers. It bans activities, for instance, use of conduct stigma through physical punishment, routines for the entry of children in institutions, and unsanctioned school business. This legislation contains India’s promise to follow a rights-based approach in terms of the educational policy whereby the Central and State Governments needs to cooperate to protect and fulfil children’s rights to education under Constitution under Article 21-A appropriately.
Types of Prevalent Crimes and Irregularities
Fake candidates, paper leak, bribery, mass cheating remain some of the basic reasons behind these scams. Due to a number of root causes, scams have now emerged as a significant problem in India’s education sector. Lack of legal scrutiny and limited supervision by organizations such as the UGC and AICTE are the main causes of fraudulent practices because there are no strict control measures. Due to the extremely high stakes in getting into only a few universities and colleges for all intents and purposes, combined with social expectations of high-flying academic achievements and well-paid jobs, desperation is inevitable. There is significant corruption and political interference and patronage at all levels and even when dealing with issues relating to admissions, examinations and accreditation, they are often covered up and there is little accountability. The privatization of education means bringing up businesslike educational institutions that put the emphasis on profit and not on quality – the subsequent unethical practices which include charging exorbitant capitation fees and issuing fake degrees with no clarity in terms of fee structure and admission procedure.
Also, the technological vulnerabilities like insufficient digital facilities and cybersecurity measures potentially expose exam procedures, processes, and outcomes to leakage and modifications, inefficient use of technologies in the surveillance of educational records and credentials also creates even further related challenges.
Lastly, there are complications related to the absence of whistleblower protection which prevents insiders from reporting any malpractice due to poor legal frameworks in protecting such individuals. To tackle these causes, legal actions that need to be implemented with the development and improvement of the laws and regulations alongside the usage of technology should be completed.
Suggestive Measures
The recognition of legal reform is crucial while addressing the issues that undermine the educational sector and fighting against white-collar crimes. To bring changes in old laws involve, closing all the legal eyes for the offence such as fraud and bribery and implementing strict punishment for committing such felonies. The new legislation should focus on the particular fraud areas that are admissions fraud, fraud in financial matters, and and academic fraud. Policies and regulations safeguarding data’s privacy and transparent regulations that necessitate annual assessment and publishable reports are vital.
Penalties like imprisonment, hefty penalties along with the discontinuation of authority are effective measures of prevention. Laws are not enough and instead; compliance is required with specialized regulatory bodies that have sufficient power and funds to implement these laws. Protection of whistleblowers is vital to prevent the quelling of those who want to report ill happenings without being fired or demoted.
Education and training of stakeholders followed by annual compliance check to enusre that all standards mandated by law are implemented. These reforms can be regarded as the improvement of integrity, accountability, as well as increasing the level of trust within the field of education.
The identified issues shall require detailed changes in the medical curriculum, where strategies range from reshaping the MCI to adopting novel models like the GMC of the United Kingdom, and extension of the stakeholder input to the community and patients. These calls as raise a public concern in the fight against corruption in medical councils and also calls for better policies and tendencies in enforcing code thereby discouraging the private colleges’ malpractice of employing actors to portray faculties and patients during assessments. Also, the legislation and policies suggest the formulation of regional policies for the grant of new medical colleges to minimize inequitable distribution and endorse the setting up of the proposed National Commission for Human Resources for Health required for the standardization of the health education.
On part of institutions, they should think about how to make some type of security system for the records of the learners, the learner interfaces and even other databases. On the security front, they should leverage on some of the latest technologies in the market such as HyperVerge which is an artificial intelligence base ID check system that will help separate to ensure that spacers are not enrolling fake profile in to their learning management system. Other teaching and learning practices are; it means that faculty members should have basic training in all types of things; for example, they should not be tricked to click on some links that appear to be a scam. There are various solutions that the authorities ought to use to record authenticity in a bid to confirm the identity of students before extending loans to them. In addition to that, identification methods which are more effective in comparison with passwords, such as facial recognition, should be adopted.
Conclusion
Thus, the ever-increasing incidence and prevalence of scams and fraudulent activities in Indian educational sector especially the recent sphere of NEET Scam themselves explain the call for legal overhaul. The current regulation is represented by the acts of RTE, UGC, AICTE, and NMC, however, it is doesn’t always meet the requirements to combat the complex nature of modern educational frauds. It is regrettable that such scams continue to contribute to the negative perception of the sector while posing a threat to the future of many students.
Some keys elements that have to be included are strict legal framework with tough punishments for the violators, better supervision as well as fair and smooth framework for the whistleblowers. It is important for governors to be transparent and accountable so that the once lost truths and integrity in higher learning institutions can be regained. In addition, employing technology in secure examination and data processing may reduce exposure to such illicit practices among the general public.
Education on the other hand needs to be oriented towards the ideal of providing result oriented and fairly rewarded education so as to reduce the issue of corruption in evaluating students and admitting them to certain classes or academic levels. This change would require concerted efforts from politicians, policymakers, scholars, colleges, and other stakeholders to put these reforms into practice as soon as possible and efficiently. Thus, all these efforts are important to safeguard the constitutional provision of right to education and also to fight against corrupt practices in the Indian education system that hampers equal opportunities and free education for all citizens.
This blog is authored by Samiksha, student of Hidayatullah National Law University, Raipur.