India lower house passes bill raising penalties for exam leaks

NEW DELHI: India’s lower house of parliament approved a bill on Wednesday that would toughen penalties for leaking exam papers, after youth-led protests calling for sweeping reforms forced the education minister to resign.

The legislation would double the maximum jail term for those involved in leaking exam papers to 10 years, and raises the maximum fine to more than $1 million.

Lawmakers approved the bill by a voice vote after a raucous, hours-long debate, according to India’s public broadcaster.

It will next be put to a vote in the upper house, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling alliance holds a majority. Modi’s cabinet greenlighted the stricter punishments last week.

The approval follows weeks of mass protests over leaked exam papers and other irregularities, which culminated in the resignation of education minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Saturday.

The protests, spearheaded by the online Cockroach Janta Party movement, drew massive support from students across the country and presented a major challenge to Modi’s government.

Rahul Gandhi of the main opposition Congress Party said he could relate to the frustration among India’s youth over the country’s education system.

“This was not anger… this was not hatred, this was deep expression of the youth of this country, of the future generation of this country, and I feel that all political parties must respect this expression,” he said in a speech in the house.

Despite rapid economic growth in the world’s most populous country, millions of young people face a shortage of well-paid jobs and fierce competition for careers.

The intense pressure to succeed has fuelled a vast network of coaching centres and created opportunities for criminal groups to profit by selling leaked exam questions.

Despite repeated government crackdowns, such leaks have remained a recurring problem in both national and state-level examinations.

Demonstrations against the paper leaks in New Delhi turned violent on July 20 when huge crowds attempted to march towards parliament from the Jantar Mantar protest site.

Police fired tear gas and used batons to disperse the protest, triggering clashes and a wave of detentions.