Why India Banned Students from Wearing Shoes or Socks to Exam Hall

Students in one India state have been banned from wearing shoes and socks during exams to prevent cheating.

In a bid to stop students from cheating in the upcoming Class X board exams, the Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB) in India has now announced that students appearing for the board examinations won’t be allowed to wear shoes and socks.

The student will have to wear slippers to the examination hall.

The Hindu reported BSEB chairman Anand Kishor as saying,

“The board has decided that candidates wearing only slippers will be allowed to enter the examination halls…those coming to the centres wearing shoes and socks will have to remove them outside the hall.”

This bizarre move has been welcomed by Bihar India Education Minister Krishna Nandan Prasad Verma.

Speaking to ANI, he said,

“It would be time consuming to make students take off their socks and shoes to conduct a check that is why such a decision was taken. The system is already in practice. Exams being held in a fair manner.”

The circular has been issued informing all district officers, schools and parents.

Giving an explanation for the decision, a BSEB official told Indian Express,

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“Though all examination centres have CCTVs installed since last year’s examination, the state board did not want to take any chance. We know this move would receive criticism from several quarters. We do not find anything objectionable with the step given the (large) scale of the examination.”

Board examinations in Bihar begin on February 21.

Cheating is rampant in Bihar during board exams and competitive exams. A recent ANI report stated that 985 students had been expelled during the intermediate exams conducted by the BSEB last year.

In fact, a video of youth climbing the building of an examination hall to help their friends had become viral in 2015. The Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry had even sought a report from the BSEB over the issue.

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