M A I N   N E W S

Copying in exams goes hi-tech
From Raman Mohan

HISAR, April 23 — Copying in examinations has gone hi-tech with increasing use of mobile phones, pagers and Internet sites for the purpose. Besides, copying is no longer restricted to backbenchers looking to pass the examination, brilliant students are using these hi-tech gizmos in an attempt to better their scores.

Invigilators contacted by The Tribune said they had noticed use of mobile phones and pagers for copying for the first time. Although, examinees were not allowed to carry cellphones and pagers inside examination halls, many of them managed to smuggle these in. At many centres, examinees are now being frisked before letting them in.

Enquiries from students revealed that small sized newer models of mobile phones are best suited for the purpose for several reasons. One, these are unobtrusive and can be smuggled in easily. Two, most of these models have vibratory and silent modes in which they do not beep when a Short Message Service (SMS) message is received. Thirdly, these have illuminated screens, which makes it easier to read the messages while holding the instrument in the palm. Finally, if caught, the message can be erased by pressing a key leaving no proof.

They said a mobile phone service provider recently introduced a website from which it was possible to send any number of SMS messages to a mobile phone subscriber free of cost. The message is received on the subscribers’ mobile phone almost instantly. These messages are short — usually restricted to 900 characters.

Mostly intelligent students who are looking beyond merely scoring pass marks are using this mode of copying. The SMS service is coming in handy in two ways. Questions requiring short answers — usually two to three sentences can be flashed from the website by friends or parents from the comfort of their homes. This kind of use is known as SAS (Short Answer Service) in examinee circles.

The other mode is called REV — short for revision. In this case friends or parents send lists of points to remind the examinee just in case he or she has missed out on them. For this purpose they have devised a good strategy. Any examinee using a mobile phone for copying leaves about half a page blank at the end of each answer. This affords scope for adding left out points at a later stage.

Such examinees usually rush to toilets about 30 minutes before the examination is scheduled to end. In complete privacy they have a look at the messages and make a mental note of the points they have left out. These are then written in the space left vacant earlier.

The examinees need not keep their handsets on throughout the examination. Messages are sent much earlier than they are accessed. These flash on the screen as soon as the set is switched on. This means the examinee can access the messages as and when he likes. And if caught with a cellphone inside the hall, he can always claim that it is switched off and thus not in use.

Ramesh Bansal (not his real name) said he hoped to score above 85 per cent in his examination. However, he used his mobile phone for REV because he wanted to make sure that his score stayed in that range. “I do feel sorry, but what can I do when the competition is so hard”, he added regretfully.

Pagers are generally used for copying in examinations in which objective type questions require one-word answers — generally yes or no. However, objective type questions have been done away with because these encouraged use of unfair means. But several competitive examinations still require such monosyllabic answers. Paging service providers too are wiser now and do not accept suspicious looking messages. However, examinees have devised innocuous codes to hoodwink them.

Teachers say hi-tech copying is as yet confined to a small number of students because very few examinees had access to costly mobile phones and Internet connections at their homes. However, they said, the number of students using this mode of copying had risen sharply during the month-long examination season.