In an unprecedented move, the Arunachal Pradesh Public Service Commission (APPSC) intends to suspend internet services during the Arunachal Pradesh Public Service Combined Competitive Examination (APPSCCE) 2018 across the State. The APPSC claims this unprecedented move has been initiated to ensure free and fair conduct of the APPSCCE to check use of unfair means through smart phones during the examination. There is no denying the fact that students nowadays use mobile apps to cheat in exams. Only on Friday Algeria cut off internet services and mobile telephony to stop cheating in high school examinations by seven lakh students which will continue till the exams are over. In the earlier days,  cheating in exams was done by copying, bringing concealed notes, etc. However, with advancement in technology, methods of cheating have also become advanced. These methods include use of smartphones, devices connected via bluetooth for external help, wireless earpieces, etc.

The technical cheating is attempted to be curbed by employing frisking before exams and other techniques. However, there are always some students who manage to take the cheating devices to the exam halls. In such a case, the examination board needs something more prominent to curb the practice of cheating during examinations. It may be noted that many examination boards employ jammers in many parts of the country. In South India, in some competitive examination centers strict frisking of examinees is carried out. Last year some centers in Kerala caught national and international attention when girl students were stripped and many were asked not to wear their bras because they had metallic clips.

Frisking is a time consuming effort especially when in each exam centers there will be hundreds of examinees which will also need huge deployment of manpower too. Thus, the best method is installing mobile signal jammers in the vicinity of exam centers. This advanced technology is now in wider usage. The APPSC’s excuse that there are not enough jammers available should be taken with a pinch of salt since conducting of the APPSCCE was not a decision taken at the spur of the moment. It should have arranged enough jammers in advance instead of asking for shutting down internet services in the state.

One will understand that the much maligned state service commission which has been in the eye of the storm over ‘lapses’ in conducting the prestigious civil service exam, this time around is making an all out effort to ensure the prelims examination passes of without a glitch. However, shutting down internet services cannot be the answer as it not only points to ill-preparedness of the Commission but also the Administration and will end up causing huge inconvenience to citizens.

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Kenter Joya Riba

(Managing Editor)
      She is a graduate in Science with post graduation in Sociology from University of Pune. She has been in the media industry for nearly a decade. Before turning to print business, she has been associated with radio and television.
Email: kenterjoyaz@easternsentinel.in / editoreasternsentinel@gmail.com
Phone: 0360-2212313

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