The present tamasha about Leaked Papers destroyed my prayer: “Lead me not into temptation..”. I have to comment.

Question Papers being shipped to exam centers by C-17 military cargo aircraft and combat helicopters, (with supersonic fighter escort, surely?), did not shake my resolution.

But this latest from The Hindu [[1]] did. I cannot post this on “Telegram” because that is banned until June 22, Post Editing banned until June 30. That is bad. I don’t sell anything, but I usually have to edit posts 3 times to reduce the number of people who will take offence and Swear Never To Speak To Me Again.

This is the part of that article [1] that shattered my vow Of Silence. Make that a Wow! Are India’s IAS officers, with legendary concern for students, concerned that students were losing money buying fake “Leaked papers”, thus cutting into the market for Real Leaked Papers? I mean, ones with the QR code [[2] ] and all? Why? Buying stolen goods knowingly is a crime. The best educational outcome would be that Go-Getters with spare cash and scant ethics buy a “leaked” paper for big money, then get a surprise at the real exam. Priceless.

No, that was not the real story. The real reason is nuanced beyond my WhatsApp attention span: “(government intervention) is to halt the spread of engineered fake leaks that can spread panic among students ahead of the (NEET) re-exam scheduled on June 21.  .. For instance, a bad actor can create a public Telegram channel and link it to an associated group. Days before an exam, the administrator can upload a random PDF file on the channel, name it provocatively such as “NEET Question Paper Leaked”. The day after the actual exam, the operator then can use Telegram’s edit feature to replace the dummy PDF with the actual question paper. While the post inside the channel shows an ‘edited’ tag, the linked group retains the timestamp of the original post made days earlier. This creates a highly convincing illusion that the actual question paper was available on the platform before the exam began, sparking panic.”

Thank you, that explains it. Makes sense: that would indeed open doors for top Opposition politicians including my heroine a.k.a. the Hon. “Motormouth” to wave 3 Gucci and Kors Purses in the Lok Sabha and bark “We Hang Our Heads in SHAME!”

But let me point out the obvious: Exam halls in India are approaching the standards of elementary schools in the USA: Automatic wire mesh shutters; Biometric ID checks. Security Guard in a sand-bag-protected machine gun nest; CCTV in bathrooms; teachers in Kevlar vests; Millimeter Wave body checks at entrances: remove shoes (there goes that rolled-up Equation Sheet!) Yes, I jest; or am I just previewing next year?

May I suggest an alternative line of thought and action?

1. My starting premise is that the purpose of formal education is not to take tests, but to learn the subject matter. Gain knowledge. If possible, through experience.
2. Tests are part of the best assessment process devised to-date. “Assessment” is a bad word: it masks the POSITIVE experience. The confidence, hard lessons, from preparing for and taking tests. Learning the subject may not be useful, but learning about oneself is precious. For instance, I would never wish to take the PhD Qualifying Exam again; but it was life-changing. I did not believe that I could think on my feet when my own Guide asked me in what was surely a desperate attempt to save me: “Are You REALLY sure?” (Yes, I was, and he later said, well, we ran out of questions and were not going to let you out too soon. But why was that paper that I tried to hold against the blackboard fluttering, when there was no fan in the room?) I learned that I could survive the pressure for 3 hours and 4 subjects. Nor would I want to take the JEE again: I had a bad headache the night before, but when the Day dawned, my head was clear, the preparation was over, it was ShowTime! Tests are an integral part of building confidence that one can face severe Tests and come through, perhaps bruised, but still come through.
3. Given the above, I submit that answering as many question papers as one can lay hands on, is a precious part of learning. Once over the self-pity years in the IIT, I did too. When the End Was Near, I went through many sample GRE tests – with a wristwatch -  until I knew what score I could get. And despite my best efforts, I only did slightly better in the real GRE. Yes, slightly better, because I knew I would feel choked, hands would shake, eyes would glaze over, but could deal with it. That is professional preparation. Would Virat Kohli go out to face Jofra Archer without practice? Would a racing, leaping catch at the boundary, or a reverse sweep for 6 against a fast bowler, come without practice? Hardik Pandya rewarded groundspeople nicely, thanking them for staying late nights so he could practice before the T20 World Cup. Taking a national exam is equal in challenge to the real professional practices.
4. Therefore, let India’s good, honest students PRACTICE. Government should post say, 1000, or 10,000 (somewhat) different question papers on each subject, FREE and OPEN. Covering the entire syllabus. What is so secret about it? With times indicated. Answers are optional; in fact, suggest ways for students to prove correctness through logic, the best training of all.
5. Just before the exams, remind everyone that PAYING FOR A LEAKED PAPER IS A CRIME.
6. Set out 500 hackers to post 10 “Leaked Question Papers” each on all Social Media, and charge big money for them. Don’t be shy, the national budget needs help. Under government supervision? Grab UPI IDs. Nab them and their parents. May include newsworthy names.
7. And then LAUGH. Because they paid for fake “leaked” papers. Those were just excerpts from the FREE papers on the government portal.
8. Laugh because you just destroyed the Business Plans of crooks who paid big money to Leak papers. And any politicians behind them.
9. Celebrate the honest students who downloaded and worked through enough Free papers to be confident of how their own minds and bodies would react in the exam hall. And race through those exams, anything that the exam setters could throw at them, and hit them for six.
10. On real exams prepared by thoughtful teachers, knowing the subject matter is the only way. This is the real test – for teachers and administrators. I used to see my class assignments posted on the ‘Net by my dear students, at sites where people claimed to provide Expert Answers. No help came. No surprise.

I do have an anecdote. Back in the late 80s/early 90s, my friend who was on an Institute Committee drafted me to turn a lunchtime argument into a 1-pager. Prevailing attitude was that “Looking At Old Question Papers Is A Violation Of The Honor Code.” Students were to sign an Honor Pledge that they would and never look(ed) at Old Question Papers!!

The Fraternities at the Institute saved and stored Banks of question papers classified by instructor, for their members. Lazy professors who set the same questions every year were peeved that those Brothers were getting high grades without attending classes.

I said NO. The issue is FAIRNESS. Make sure ALL professors provide copies of old tests, and put them in the Library Reference Section for ALL students (so that no one can check them out to conceal them from others). Today, there are no libraries, so social media. Will convince teachers to think up new questions. I used to give out copies of all my own and anyone else’s papers to my classes well before tests, and say, “Hey, I know what is in there, so no guarantee that my test will be anything like these. But if you don’t work these, tough luck, ha ha! Accounted for the spread in my class grades from 150/100 to -10. The good ones excelled and laughed. The lazy ones complained. I laughed.”

The present blinkered approach and descent into more and more Restrictions against honest students reminds me of my favourite movie scene from “Men In Black”. I tried to enact it in my classes, but few ever quite “got it” because so much of today’s Higher Education and Workplace is so like it.

This scrawny kid gets yanked off the street by The Men in Black (Govt. Agents, dark glasses and all). He is told nothing except that he is drafted for a Mission, and thrust into a room – where a fearsome Squad of Special Forces, tall and muscular, stands at rigid attention, armed to the teeth. Our hero asks the Squad Leader:

“Hey dude, can u tell me what is this Mission and why were u selected for it?”

“BECAUSE WE ARE THE BEST OF THE BEST OF THE BEST, SSSIRRR!”

“Oh, so u ain’t got no clue neither, huh?”

Try to hire some humble people who are not afraid to think. Especially in Higher Education. Think WIN, not WHINE.

Vande Mataram !