Systemic Corruption In India's Examination System: Paper Leaks, Institutional Accountability, And Technological Reforms

Abstract

This research paper deals with the reasons behind examination paper leaks in Indian education. Over the past 23 years, India has witnessed 45 paper leaks and related scams, with only 2 convictions, a process that took 14 years of trials. Of the cases: 1658 arrested, 925 accused appeared in chargesheet, 18 cases are still pending, 32 resulted in acquittal, and 43 accused remain in judicial custody. Many leaks were never registered and their accused never arrested, some evidences destroyed, some files were forgotten by the authorities. This paper examines how technology has contributed to the rise in paper leaks, why corruption occurs in higher education, and proposes various taxonomies of academic corruption: 1) Institutional vs Individual, 2) Corrupted functions, 3) Actors and beneficiaries, 4) Comprehensive taxonomy, 5) Pecuniary vs non-pecuniary. The findings include a comparative analysis of examination conducting method across China, Singapore, South Korea, Japan, along with policy recommendations. The paper also discusses hunger strikes in India, the resignation of leaders both in India and internationally, questions of government accountability, the exam/re-exam controversy, appropriate use of technology, trends in the Indian government education budget, relevant case law, and the Jharkhand paper leak controversy.