Government schools use face recognition, body cameras, and analytics to combat test cheating

 Government schools use face recognition, body cameras, and analytics to combat test cheating

Although these initiatives by state-run universities could improve test integrity, worries about student privacy and data collection still exist.

Examination cheating is a common occurrence in India. Malpractice takes many forms; it ranges from the use of chits and Bluetooth devices to people posing as others and taking tests on their behalf.

Ishan, a 19-year-old whose name has been altered, compares entering the test room at his health sciences institution to passing through security at an airport before boarding an airplane. He waits in line for his identification to be confirmed.

A few weeks before, each student received a request to submit a current photo of themselves. When it's his time, he is asked to face a camera, which takes a look at Ishan's face. He is able to enter when the entrance gate lights green. A few pupils ahead of him cause a red light, and they are instructed to wait for further examination.

Ishan sees many cameras across the exam room as he walks in and takes a seat. He is shocked to see that as soon as the question paper and answer papers are distributed, the proctor within the room leaves.

Soon after the test starts, the cameras start to move at random and concentrate on different students. Examinees are reminded via a speech notice from a speaker within the room that the center is outfitted with gadgets that may pick up audio and record any conversations that take place there.

In order to significantly reduce human participation during the invigilation process, the Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences (RGUHS), located in Bengaluru, plans to deploy technology in this manner to stop malpractices.

Test-taking cheating is a common occurrence in India. Malpractice comes in many forms, from the use of chits and Bluetooth devices to people posing as others and completing tests on their behalf. An important obstacle to conducting free and fair exams is the lack of external invigilators and the teacher shortage.

When the system breaks down, cheats unfairly gain an edge over students who have put a lot of effort into their academic success, and the quality of evaluations suffers. A few state-run organizations have started using technology to fight the threat.

The Karnataka government founded RGUHS in 1996, and it now manages 1,242 colleges in 31 districts. Recently, RGUHS called for bids for the project, "web streaming of theory examination centres," which is expected to cost about Rs 7 crore.

"To conduct safe and exam-free exams, we want to set up a centralized examination vigilance and remote squad center at the University. According to MK Ramesh, vice-chancellor of RGUHS, it would be able to link to the surveillance systems at all connected institutions, Moneycontrol said.

At the moment, 1,500 test rooms serving students from all across Karnataka are monitored by thirty 50-inch TV monitors at the university's main campus. However, during the roughly three-hour test periods, it is difficult for our team to physically supervise different centers "explained Ramesh.

He said, "The system who would mark any impersonation attempts including unusual movements or behaviors of students inside the exam hall." The system is equipped with a database of student photos and facial recognition technology.

Features like intrusion detection, face identification and recognition, people counting, loitering detection, dwell time analysis, including crowd formation evaluation are all made possible by AI-based analytics.

According to Ramesh, "this is the first time an Indian university is using AI on such a large scale to combat exam malpractice." Approximately 3 lakh students are enrolled in the university's numerous programmes, which include allied health sciences, dentistry, AYUSH, nursing, physiotherapy, and pharmacy.

"To avoid oral dictation during the test, we want to include an audio detection tool. Ramesh said, "This is intended to ensure a foolproof system for those taking medical and overall wellness science exams."

The institution is not by itself.

KPSC use body cams.

In order to stop test fraud, the Karnataka Public Service Commission is additionally employing technology. "To monitor students during exams, we have given all invigilators 3,037 body cameras. The tests are also being videotaped, and we already have CCTV cameras," KPSC Secretary KS Latha Kumari told Moneycontrol.

She further said that in order to stop students from using their phones as well as other electronic devices during tests, jammers had been placed in the exam rooms.

Every student gets frisked by us as well. In order to avoid impersonation, all invigilators utilize face-recognition software on their iPads one hour before to the tests to compare the applicants' photos with their hall pass or other documentation. Kumari said, "Face recognition cameras might be used in the future to detect those implicated in malpractices.

The Tamil Nadu State Medical University introduced an AI-powered system in 2020 that can track test locations in real-time and alert authorities to "suspected" malpractices. In a similar vein, the Nagpur Zilla Parishad established a district control center in February of this year in order to use technology to offer an extra degree of security for its state board examinations.

Freedom and consent

Exam integrity may be improved by such initiatives, however issues with student data sanctity and privacy rights exist.

Mahantesh B, state office secretary of the All India Democratic Students Organization (Karnataka), said, "We are not against the use of cameras or technology to curb examination malpractices, but they shouldn't be employed in order to restrict students' freedom."

The Internet Freedom Foundation's policy director, Prateek Waghre, says that additional information is needed to determine whether or not these demands for students' personal data are being enforced by law.

It all comes down to how conscious the students are of the exploitation of their data. Waghre questioned, "Did the institution request consent, and was it freely given?" He continued by saying that educational institutions must tell students about how their data is kept, used, and distributed after exams.

Pallavi Bedi concurs, serving as senior policy officer at the Centre for Internet and Society. "The crucial question is: can students request that this data be removed from the institution after the exam, and how long will this data be retained by the institution?" said Bedi.

All of this is happening just before the government is about to publish regulations governing the execution of the August-passed Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, 2023.

For the purposes for dealing with for "prevention, detection, investigation including prosecution of any offence or infringement of any law," among other things, the requirements of notice and permission are exempted under Section 17(1)(c) of the DPDP statute.

This clause hasn't been informed yet, according to Bedi. However, she said, given that cheating can be seen as a severe offense and a violation of public order, the government might use this clause to exempt government and educational institutions, allowing them to handle student data in an attempt to stop test malpractice. On this, the verdict is still out.

Efficiency of the technology

Waghre thinks that the evidence supporting this medium's superiority over the previous manual invigilation approach in preventing test malpractices is weak.

Waghre said, "This technology cannot be relied upon to be completely reliable—mismatches and false positive cases are still possible."

According to Bedi, there has to be greater transparency on the technology being utilized and its efficacy. She thinks there could be situations when AI mistakenly flags pupils for misconduct based on a little difference in how they look. Students may experience emotional anguish at a time when they are already under stress if they are falsely accused of cheating, said Bedi.

Institutions will need to find a delicate balance between upholding academic integrity and protecting students' rights and welfare as they use face recognition and AI-based monitoring to support test invigilation.