State

RAS prelims 2018: People oppose internet ban in Rajasthan

Snapping internet services during the exams is not the permanent solution to stop malpractice, city residents said. Lots of exams are conducted in a year and terminating the internet for each of them is not the right option. If done so, it will lead to a heavy loss of business and economy, they added

August 6, 2018, 12:50 pm

Array
Representative image of ‘Internet Ban’

Representative image of ‘Internet Ban’

Jaipur: RPSC (Rajasthan Public Service Commission) has successfully conducted RAS prelims 2018 on Sunday across the state. Internet services were terminated for four hours during the exam from 9 am to 1 pm. Due to the internet- ban students faced several problems in booking cabs and finding locations for the exams centers using their phones. People suffered by not being able to order food online, pay bills, book tickets online and other internet services in the state leading to a huge loss in online business.

Internet ban during the exams is becoming a trend nowadays. It happened earlier also in the Constable Recruitment Exam 2018. Internet services were terminated for two days from morning till evening across the state leading to a huge loss of business and problems among the general public.

People across the state, particularly in Jaipur, are criticizing internet ban. Rather than catching criminals involved in paper leaks, , terminating internet services seems to be the only option left with police. This step is being taken to prevent usage of electronic devices or hi-tech- online cheating during the exams. If police are not able to conduct examinations, without shutting down the internet services than there is a major fault in the system, which needs to be rectified, residents said.

According to cyber security experts, snapping internet services during the exams is not the permanent solution to stop the malpractice. Lots of exams are conducted in a year and terminating the internet for each of them is not the right option, they said. If done so, it will lead to a heavy loss of business and economy. Police officials must investigate thoroughly into the usage of electronic devices during the exams and other malpractices. They should hire technological experts in the examinations halls to detect any such malpractice by the candidates. Strict checking should be done regarding this.

This is the ninth time in eight months when internet services were terminated for exams. The curfew of internet services on Sunday affected online businesses leading to a loss of lakhs of rupees. However, banning internet services resulted in low chances of malpractices during exams but the system has to come up with other alternatives to ensure safe and secure conduction of exams. Banning internet services every time is not the only option.

First published: August 6, 2018
Click on the following link(s) to find the latest & related stories on: >