Shock is being expressed at Galgotias College being discovered presenting a Chinese language-made robotic canine and a South Korean-made soccer-playing drone as its personal creations on the not too long ago held India AI Affect Summit 2026, a world occasion in New Delhi. Earlier, a UGC-listed journal had revealed a paper from the college titled “Corona Virus Killed by Sound Vibrations Produced by Thali or Ghanti: A Potential Speculation,” which turned the topic of widespread ridicule. Following the robotic canine controversy coming to gentle, the college has withdrawn the paper. These incidents are signs of deeper issues afflicting the Indian training system generally. Galgotias merely bit off greater than it might chew.
Examinations themselves are ceaselessly compromised. Dishonest is extensively reported, and in some locations it has change into institutionalized. As an illustration, in UP Board examinations on the Excessive Faculty and Intermediate ranges, it has not been unusual for college students, in alternate for fee, to repeat solutions written on the blackboard by lecturers. There have additionally been allegations that, for greater funds, proxy candidates write examinations on behalf of scholars. Authorities are sometimes accused of turning a blind eye to mass copying, whereas political patronage and corruption throughout the training division are mentioned to allow such practices.
Malpractice shouldn’t be confined to routine board examinations. Even in entrance examinations to premier engineering and medical establishments, impersonation rackets have sometimes been uncovered, with candidates allegedly showing on behalf of others for substantial sums. Personal teaching centres have typically been implicated in such instances.
What will be anticipated from college students who cross examinations via unfair means? They’re unlikely to change into unique thinkers or innovators. The corruption internalized in the course of the training course of typically carries over into skilled life, the place jobs are additionally typically allegedly secured via bribes. It’s due to this fact unsurprising that the executive system faces persistent allegations of corruption. The seeds of such practices are sown in the course of the training course of itself. Manipulating knowledge and info to provide fascinating experiences for administrative or political superiors turns into normalized. Mental capacity is then spent on justifying the unjustifiable.
It’s telling that the Prime Minister’s interactive programme with college students focuses on “Pariksha Pe Charcha” moderately than on how training can construct a greater society or enhance high quality. The message seems to be that examinations matter greater than the training course of. If college students or dad and mom imagine success can’t be achieved via arduous work alone, some might resort to unfair means. The top begins to justify the means.
Additionally it is troubling that tutorial establishments body pointers specifying permissible limits of plagiarism in scholar assignments. The idea appears to be that plagiarism will happen; the trouble is to control its extent moderately than domesticate originality. Schooling more and more depends on policing college students, significantly throughout examinations. Some school members take satisfaction in catching college students copying moderately than in nurturing tutorial excellence. Priorities seem misplaced.
Galgotias was uncovered as a result of the act was blatant. Nonetheless, plagiarism in thesis writing and outsourcing of initiatives to “professionals” are reported throughout establishments, from college to postgraduate ranges. The person related to the robotic canine episode could also be made a scapegoat, however the issue is systemic.
The standard of many authorities establishments can be uneven. The coverage of privatization in training, mixed with corruption in political and administrative techniques, has led to the mushrooming of substandard and typically faux establishments. The UGC has issued a listing of 23 universities in 12 states and union territories that it considers faux, although critics argue the quantity could also be greater. In authorities establishments there may be at the very least theoretical scope for reform via administrative change; in non-public establishments pushed primarily by revenue, decline will be tougher to arrest. Allegations persist that enormous sums are exchanged for legislative approvals and regulatory clearances, and that affect determines visibility at main public occasions.
With the rise of Synthetic Intelligence, some argue that solely a small variety of innovators can be required whereas the bulk perform as customers. In such a situation, incidents just like the Galgotias controversy threat being dismissed as aberrations moderately than warning indicators. The system continues as a result of it serves entrenched pursuits. Complete reform might not seem pressing to these in energy, and programmes centred on examinations might proceed.
—
*Secretary Normal of Socialist Social gathering (India) and has taught at varied Indian establishments of Know-how, Administration and Regulation
