Agency Report
Millions of people in the Indian state of Rajasthan faced internet blackout on Sunday, a move the local authorities said was aimed at curbing exam malpractice.
CNN reports that more than 25 million people across the state faced government-mandated internet shutdowns and restrictions on Sunday, to prevent cheating in a mass exam.
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Hundreds of thousands of candidates sat for the Rajasthan Teacher Eligibility Test (REET), an exam that paves the way to employment as a primary or secondary school teacher at government-run schools.
It’s a coveted position that comes with generous benefits — and the exam hasn’t been held in Rajasthan since 2018, which could be one reason there were so many candidates on Sunday.
Thousands of test centers were set up across the state, with travel centres from their hometowns on free buses arranged by the government. But, wary of potential cheating on the written exam — which has been rampant in the past — authorities ordered districts to issue internet restrictions to prevent any leaks of information.
Local reports said the blackout lasted for about 12 hours.
At least 10 districts shut down their mobile internet, though several kept broadband internet going to minimize disruption to businesses and daily life.
In Jaipur district, the state’s most populous with more than 6.6 million residents, the internet was shut down from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., according to Dinesh Kumar Yadav, the Jaipur divisional commissioner.
“There were so many candidates … we just wanted to make sure [there wasn’t cheating],” Yadav said. “People tried to cheat but we caught a lot of them. But because of the internet shutdown, the [test] paper was not leaked out.”
He added that candidates sometimes use “different types” of instruments to try to cheat, and that other students “would get angry if they did not get a fair chance.”
Several other major districts, including Alwar, Nagaur, Sikar and Ajmer, also imposed temporary internet shutdowns — adding up to a total of more than 25.2 million people affected, according to the most recent population estimates from the 2011 census. According to the same survey, Rajasthan is home to more than 68 million people.
Other anti-cheating measures included CCTV cameras at all testing centers, according to a document tweeted by Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot. Candidates were not allowed to bring in their own face masks from the outside; after arriving, they had to discard the masks they brought, then use masks provided at the testcentrenter.
