Acting tough to prevent malpractices in public exams, the Director of Government Examinations (DGE) has directed the suspension of hall supervisors wherever malpractices are detected and booked by squads. In a circular dated March 20 to all District Educational Officers, the DGE, besides ordering immediate suspension of hall supervisors at centres where malpractices were found by flying squads and standing squads in the last eight days, sought a list.
As this could become the rule in the days to come, teachers across the State are planning to boycott evaluation for an hour on Thursday.
Strongly opposing the move, the Tamil Nadu Postgraduate Teacher’s Association general secretary C. Vallivelu said students most often bring in study materials hidden. “The hall supervisors are not allowed to thoroughly check the students before the exam. So it is unfair to penalise them,” he said.
“If the DGE does not back down by then, we might even decide to boycott evaluations entirely,” he added.
The circular has also asked DEOs to take disciplinary action against the chief superintendent or departmental officers in cases where the candidate has not written the question booklet series (A or B) on the answer sheet. The DGE also barred chief superintendents, departmental officers and standing squads from carrying mobile phones inside the examination centres.
According to a senior official in the Directorate of Government Exams, the order was issued after a question paper was leaked over WhatsApp in Krishnagiri. “Suspension is necessary, at least until an inquiry is initiated where there are repeated cases of malpractice,” he said.
“We are not asking that the hall supervisors conduct body checks, but they should ensure that when a student is cheating using study materials or bit papers, the hall supervisor is alert enough to catch them,” he said.
There are some teachers, however, who support the decision to suspend hall supervisors. “The problem is that many teachers do not take their duty seriously,” says a government school teacher in Chennai.
“Both the chief supervisor and the hall supervisor need to take responsibility when malpractices take place. Even the District Education Officers should be held responsible,” he said.
They plan to boycott evaluation across the State for an hour
on Thursday
