Indian Students Claim It's Their 'Birthright' to Cheat in Exams

The amount of cheating done in exams by Indian students is becoming so severe teachers are no longer attempting to properly teach their pupils, according to a report.

A look into the level of corruption in parts of the Indian university exam system reveals some students believe cheating in exams is a "birthright", according to the BBC.

Some students are also known to have placed daggers on their desk during exams in an attempt to warn off any invigilators whose job it is to watch out for cheating in exams.

"India's university system is in crisis," said Pratap Singh, a university student from the northern state of Uttar Pradesh. "Cheating happens at every level. Students use bribes to get admissions and good results. Research students get professors to write their dissertations. And the professors cheat too, publishing articles in bogus journals."

Another student Pinki Singh, added the level of corruption is also having a detrimental effect on the quality of education in the country.

"I will tell you about education," she said. "The curriculum is poor, and when lecturers won't teach properly, you have to get private tutorials or just memorise from textbooks.

"If you really want to know the truth there's no point in studying properly. You just need to buy one of the cheat books sold in the bazaar and learn the answers.

"In my first year doing history I tried to study properly, but my seniors just told me: 'Buy the cheat books.'"

The report also looks into how online universities "disappear" after students pay to enrol online.

According to BBC's Craif Jeffery: "Delivering education is the job of Indian states rather than central government, and states like Uttar Pradesh are not investing properly in provincial universities.

"This leaves many students marooned by modernity, clinging to the sinking ship of an outdated university education. The right to cheat agitation is no oddity - it is an ironic comment on India today."