Government service functions as the backbone of a state’s administrative structure. The responsibilities of running the state, enforcing laws, ensuring public services, implementing development plans, educating the nation, and safeguarding citizens’ rights rest largely on government employees. Therefore, proper evaluation of merit, integrity, competence, and efficiency in recruitment to these positions is of utmost importance. For this reason, government job examinations are considered the largest, most difficult, and most competitive recruitment processes in the country.
To a meritorious student, a government job is not merely a profession; it is a dream, a goal, a secure future, a symbol of social prestige, and the reward for years of perseverance and hard work. For a family, such a job is nothing short of a blessing and a position of great honor. Millions of students across the country devote themselves day and night to intense study, shedding sweat and sacrificing comfort, all to prove their merit for a single post. In the job market, a government position has become like a “golden deer” rare and highly coveted pursued by countless hardworking aspirants.
However, it is deeply unfortunate that in recent times, question leaks and the use of electronic devices for cheating in government job examinations have taken on an alarming scale. As a result, the very purpose of these examinations is being undermined, and the merit-based, transparent, and fair recruitment system is facing a serious threat. Merit is being devalued. At present, some dishonest candidates and organized criminal networks are deliberately involved in these unethical activities. Through question paper leaks, misuse of technology, and various fraudulent tactics, they are destroying the integrity of examinations and weakening the very foundation of state administration. Currently, organized syndicates manage to obtain question papers of various government recruitment exams in advance and sell them to candidates at high prices. Many examinees, driven by greed, purchase these leaked questions and sit for the exams, which represents a gross insult to their own merit and moral values. Others resort to cheating inside examination centers with the help of modern technology. By using mobile phones, Bluetooth devices, micro-cameras, earpieces, and SIM-enabled miniature gadgets, they establish communication with individuals outside the examination hall. Consequently, the entire examination system is turning into an organized crime, calling into question law and order and administrative integrity. Several factors are responsible for this unethical trend. Among them are the excessive social attraction toward government jobs and the allure of a secure and permanent livelihood, coupled with the limited number of posts against an overwhelming number of candidates, which intensifies competition to an extreme level. Additionally, the mentality of achieving quick success and an aversion to hard work encourage many to seek shortcut methods. Alongside these, the easy availability and misuse of modern technology, inadequate monitoring at examination centers, weak security arrangements, and, in some cases, negligence or lack of awareness among responsible officials. All these factors combined are causing the incidence of cheating and fraud in government job examinations to increase day by day. The consequences of these unethical practices are extremely severe and far-reaching. The spread of cheating in government job examinations deprives honest, meritorious, and hardworking candidates of their rightful opportunities and fair positions. Their tireless efforts become meaningless, which stands in direct contradiction to the principles of social justice. On the other hand, when incompetent and dishonest individuals enter the administration, the quality of public service declines, corruption and irregularities increase, and transparency in decision-making deteriorates. As a result, overall national development is hampered, state discipline weakens, disorder emerges, and eventually people begin to lose trust in the state. This gravely obstructs the establishment of good governance. Moreover, cheating in examinations through electronic devices is not merely a legal offense; it is also a manifestation of extreme moral decay. Those who become accustomed to achieving success through dishonest means at the very beginning of their educational lives are more likely to engage in corruption and unethical practices in their professional careers as well. Consequently, fundamental values such as honesty, hard work, justice, and responsibility gradually erode in society, which is extremely dangerous for a nation.
To overcome this crisis, strict and effective measures must be taken. The use of body scanners at examination centers, installation of mobile jammers, and rigorous searches at entry.
