'Speak to parents, understand what pushed children towards exam malpractices': UP Governor

Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel on Friday said that parents of students found involved in examination malpractices should be called and engaged in dialogue to understand the circumstances that pushed them towards such acts.

According to a statement issued by the Raj Bhavan, a meeting chaired by the governor, where Dr A P J Abdul Kalam Technical University here gave a detailed presentation on its digital examination ecosystem.

During the presentation, the university informed that to ensure transparency, fairness and security, live monitoring of examination halls is conducted through CCTV cameras from the university's command centre.

Patel said, "Parents of students found involved in cheating should be called and spoken to, and efforts should be made to understand the circumstances under which students were compelled to indulge in such acts. Dialogue is an effective medium to guide children in the right direction." Sharing her experiences from her tenure as a minister and chief minister in Gujarat, the governor said that after the declaration of Class 10 and 12 examination results, some students had been driven to suicidal thoughts due to failure.

She said she personally interacted with students and parents and called for answer sheets, many of which had several blank pages. She advised parents to visit schools, discuss issues with teachers and motivate children to focus on their studies.

Patel stressed that during the evaluation of answer sheets, errors should be clearly marked at the relevant place so that students seeking re-evaluation can understand their shortcomings.

Emphasising sensitivity among parents towards their children's academic performance, she said the evaluation process should be carried out with utmost care and that there should be a provision for financial penalties in cases of incorrect evaluation.