Telangana, AP told to spell out steps to curb mass copying

The High Court at Hyderabad on Tuesday directed both the Telangana State and Andhra Pradesh governments to come up with a report in two weeks detailing the measures they would take to curb the menace of mass copying during SSC examinations in the two States.

A division bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Ramesh Ranganathan and Justice Shameem Akhtar gave this direction while hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) petition seeking strong governmental action to curb these rampant malpractices in school education.

Senior counsel S Niranjan Reddy, appearing for the petitioner, informed the Court that reputed media houses, both print and electronic, had during the last year highlighted 140 instances of mass copying in both the States, with majority of cases reported from AP. However, there had been no effective steps taken by the governments to curb this menace, he said.

The counter affidavit filed by Andhra Pradesh government admitted that not a single case of prosecution had been launched in this regard.

Same was the case with Telangana government where not a single criminal case had been filed against the invigilators who openly encouraged this activity. Only after the filing of this PIL, two cases had been filed.

He cited the Gujarat experience where CCTV cameras were installed in examination centres and footage beamed live to a central control centre and sought similar measures from the two governments. He wanted the District Collectors to be given responsibility for ensuring no mass copying in the district.

The bench stressed that there is a need for an attitudinal change in moving away from the obsession with marks as it is not conducive to the interests of students themselves. It directed both the governments to come out with a report and posted the matter to two weeks.