Bangalore Varsity fills a gap, checks exam fraud

Many colleges in the City were allegedly exploiting this ‘loophole’ to ‘help’ their foreign students, who do not mind forking out a few thousands of rupees, to pass an exam.

Last week, the University declared that leaving gaps/blanks, writing the register number and religious symbols in an answer sheet would amount to malpractice and may lead to blacklisting the student from writing the exam for some time.

According to sources in the BU, the move came after many students, especially foreign nationals, were caught for submitting answer sheets written at home after leaving gaps/blank pages. Many private colleges were apparently ‘helping’ such students not only to help them score but also improve the ‘track record’ of their ‘alma mater’. Needless to say, this came with a price.

“Many colleges would allow foreign students to leave their answer sheets blank, take them home and answer the questions before submitting it to the invigilator. When BU found this, it decided to put its foot down on such practices,” a senior professor said.

The penalty prescribed for such acts, however, may be “less harsh”. In the words of Registrar (Evaluation) T R Subramanya, “It’s slightly beyond letting a student off with a warning.”

“Once a student is found leaving gaps/blank pages, writing his/her registration number and religious symbols in the answer sheet, the matter will go to BU’s Malpractice Committee which will decide on the next course of action after giving a hearing to the student,” Subramanya told Deccan Herald.

Although the Committee might permit the student to write the exam immediately, it might also blacklist him/her for some time if the act was deliberate, Subramanya added.
Exams for undergraduate courses of BU is scheduled to commence on Tuesday.