Gurgaon: Haryana recorded 441 cases of cheating during the recently held Class 10 and 12 state board examinations, with district-wise data showing Nuh at the top with 74 cases. In second position is Palwal, with 61 cases, followed by Sonipat (50), Panipat (41), Rohtak (38) and Gurgaon (37). In contrast, Yamunanagar and Ambala reported zero cases, while Kurukshetra and Faridabad saw just one case each, and Sirsa, Hisar, Fatehabad and Rewari recorded two cases apiece.Nuh also logged two impersonation cases while Gurgaon reported one.The data include 106 regular and 15 open school cases at the secondary level, along with 286 regular and 34 open school cases at the senior secondary level. Around 5,71,767 candidates appeared across 1,433 centres — including 2,95,748 for Class 10, 2,70,663 for Class 12 and 5,356 for D.El.Ed (Diploma in Elementary Education).Authorities said that nearly 144 cases, largely linked to mass copying, remain under review.“We have a three-tier disciplinary mechanism: cancellation of the candidate’s exam, reporting govt school staff to the Directorate of School Education if found involved, and penalising private institutions through fines or debarment from hosting future examinations,” said Haryana Board of School Education chairman Dr Pawan Kumar.Authorities pointed out that incidents of mass copying were particularly evident in districts such as Sonipat and Panipat, and action against up to 34 students was recommended for disrupting the examination process.On Feb 26, an elder brother appeared in place of his younger brother for the Class 10 mathematics exam at RK International Senior Secondary School, Salamba. The impersonation was discovered after invigilators found the accused had used a forged Aadhaar card printout to gain entry into the centre. A Common Service Centre (CSC) operator has also been accused of being involved in the crime.In another incident in Nuh, authorities caught two impersonators at Govt Senior Secondary School, Salahedi, attempting to write the English paper on behalf of the original students. The fraud was detected during a surprise inspection when discrepancies were found in admit cards and roll numbers. Based on the complaint by centre superintendent Amit Kumar, police registered a case and arrested three persons, the impersonator, the student on behalf of whom he was taking the exam, and a CSC operator accused of preparing fake admit cards. A minor impersonator was also taken into custody.All candidates booked for using unfair means have been summoned for personal hearings at the board headquarters in Bhiwani on April 29 at 9.30 am, with notifications sent via SMS and email. Board chairman Dr Pawan Kumar said penalties will be decided after scrutiny by a designated committee and punishments will range from condonation in minor cases to bans of one to three years in serious or repeat offences.The Class 10 examinations concluded on March 28 and Class 12 on April 1, with evaluation commencing from April 2. Officials added that this year enhanced security measures, including QR codes and concealed features on question papers, have helped reduce cheating incidents to a minimum in the past three years. Despite the decline, the board has reiterated its zero-tolerance stance towards cheating, noting that organised attempts at malpractice in certain districts continue to pose challenges.
