India arrests hundreds
over Bihar school cheating
About 300 people have been arrested in the Indian state of
Bihar, authorities say, after reports emerged of blatant cheating in school
exams.
Parents and friends of students were photographed climbing
school walls to pass on answers.
Many of those arrested were parents. At least 750 students have
been expelled.
An estimated 1.4m students are taking their school leaving exams
in Bihar alone - tests seen as crucial for their chances of a successful
career.
The authorities have clearly been embarrassed by the cheating,
the BBC's Jill McGivering says, with the episode prompting ridicule on social
media.
Students were seen copying answers from smuggled-in note sheets,
and police posted outside test centres were even seen being bribed to look the
other way.
On top of the arrests, in four centres further exams have been
cancelled.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar condemned the cheating but
said the images were not the "whole story" of his state.
He warned parents that helping their children cheat would only
harm them in the long run.
State Education Minister PK Shahi said it would be difficult to
conduct fair exams without help from parents, given the potential number of
people involved.
"Three to four people helping a single student would mean
that there is a total of six to seven million people helping students
cheat," he said.
"Is it the responsibility of the government alone to manage
such a huge number of people and to conduct a 100% free and fair
examination?"
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