By: Rey Shankar
In India, government positions are extremely sought after and often have many well-qualified candidates applying to them. The state government schools administer tests to assess students’ abilities and, because of the venerated nature of these jobs, cheating is a common occurrence during these tests. Some people buy the question papers or answers beforehand and some even go as far as paying someone else to take the test on their behalf.
In one instance, 4 government school teachers were caught on a bus solving test questions for around 20 candidates, who had paid them to do so. This case instigated many investigations into the prevalence of cheating during these examinations. Since 2018, roughly 12 recruitment drives have been canceled due to a test being leaked.
Some trace the cause of this issue to the growing unemployment problem in the country. This, combined with the craze for a government position, leads to a desperation that causes people to stoop to unfair means to secure themselves a position.