The proposed changes come as the government faces nationwide protests over widespread problems in the education system, particularly recurring leaks of question papers in competitive exams such as the National Eligibility and Entrance Test (NEET) for admission to medical courses.
In 2024, the government had introduced the law ““prevent unfair means in public examinations and provide for matters related thereto or incidental thereto.”
It aimed to bring greater transparency, fairness and credibility to public examination systems and assure young people that their sincere and genuine efforts will be fairly rewarded.
The law criminalizes various unfair activities in public examinations, such as leaking question papers, tampering with answer sheets, tampering with seating arrangements, creating fake cheating websites for monetary gain, and conducting fake exams.
On Friday, the Union Cabinet approved amendments to the anti-paper leakage law, 2024. A day later, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned after weeks of student protests demanding his ouster.
The Bill amending the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024 is likely to be tabled before Parliament in this monsoon session.
The main modifications proposed by the bill are detailed below: