Leveraging Blockchain Technology to Enhance Exam Security and Prevent Question Paper Leaks at Punjab State Aids Control Society

9 views 7:51 am 0 Comments February 7, 2024

In recent years, question paper leaks have severely impacted government recruitment exams in India, undermining the education system’s foundations, and Numerous instances of leaks across states and sectors have emerged as a significant concern. 89101112 This issue is particularly prevalent in competitive exams conducted by public sector departments across states like Rajasthan, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Bihar, and Haryana.13 The root cause analysis points to the vulnerability of the traditional, paper-based examination system, marked by manual processes and a centralized framework, making it prone to leaks, cheating, impersonation, post-exam answer manipulation, and the fraudulent alteration of scorecards and results. Consequently, verifying the authenticity and reliability of examinations, as well as their corresponding results and scorecards, becomes an intricate challenge.14

These leaks have significant implications, eroding students’ confidence, disrupting education, and jeopardizing public exchequer. Urgent measures are needed to address and rectify these issues to restore trust and ensure the integrity of the education and examination systems in India. This emphasizes a critical need: the creation and deployment of a robust mechanism to overcome these inherent shortcomings. Integrating such a mechanism is not only necessary but also a pivotal step toward strengthening the integrity and credibility of the entire examination and evaluation process. Considering these challenges and acknowledging the immediate need for a transformative solution, the integration of blockchain technology stands out as a compelling proposition.

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In the fight against question paper leaks, blockchain stands out as a game-changer, revolutionizing secure and transparent information handling.15 Its core tenets of decentralization, incorruptibility, traceability, and ultimate consistency make it a transformative solution to data management challenges in untrusted environments.16 This state-of-the-art technology ensures instant, collaborative, and fully transparent information securely stored in an unmodifiable ledger, exclusively accessible to authorized network members.17 By storing questions within the blockchain system, access is restricted to those with permission, promoting complete transparency and unparalleled efficiency in countering leaks.

In a pioneering move to fortify exam security and eliminate question paper leaks, the Punjab State Aids Control Society (PSACS) harnessed the power of blockchain technology in association with EduBlock Pro, a subsidiary of Antier Solutions, Mohali India. This transformative initiative was implemented during the recruitment process for staff nurses and lab technicians through offline exams. By embracing blockchain, PSACS not only set an unprecedented example but also laid the foundation for a new era of secure, transparent, and academically robust government examinations nationwide. This article delves into the Punjab case study, showcasing its bold initiatives in harnessing cutting-edge technologies like blockchain to redefine public sector governance and amplify impact.

Blockchain Unleashed: Transforming Public Sector Governance

Blockchain, initially known for its role in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, triggers a transformative shift in various sectors, from medicine to logistics, finance, education, and public administration.18 Despite its vast potential, this technology remains underexplored by both citizens and the public sector.19 Public entities can leverage the advantages of a distributed, decentralized ledger, reaping benefits such as reduced security expenses20 and heightened data security.21 Integrating blockchain leads to transformative changes, enhancing decision-making, network services, data security, efficiency, and innovative public services within public administrations.22

In the dynamic landscape of distributed database technology, Blockchain serves as a revolutionary force for secure and transparent data management.23 Acting as a collective, unalterable ledger, it streamlines transactions and asset monitoring within a business network. Whether tangible or intangible, assets find a secure place on the blockchain, enabling the tracking and trading of valuable items. This mitigates risks and reduces costs for all participants.24252627

To address question paper leaks, blockchain offers instant, collaborative, and fully transparent information securely stored in an unmodifiable ledger, exclusively accessible to authorized users.28 Access restrictions and shared perspectives ensure the visibility of every transaction detail, establishing complete transparency and unprecedented efficiency in combating leaks. Blockchain, functioning as a distributed database solution, extends a roster of validated data records through the engagement of nodes. Every transaction is meticulously documented in the public ledger, cultivating a detailed historical record. With its inherent decentralization, Blockchain eradicates the necessity for intermediaries, ensuring that transaction details are openly shared among all nodes. This transparency distinguishes the system from its centralized counterparts that involve third-party participation. The anonymity of nodes within the Blockchain enhances security, establishing a robust environment for confirming data transactions.29

Therefore, primarily recognized as the technology powering the Bitcoin cryptocurrency, and uploading its integrity of transactions through its public ledger system,30 It provides a transformative solution to combat question paper leaks by leveraging its decentralized nature, eliminating intermediaries, enhancing security, and establishing a robust collaborative environment for secure and transparent information storage.

PSACS’s Recruitment Challenges: The Punjab Case Study and the Question Paper Leak Dilemma

The recruitment journey at PSACS unfolds meticulously, from the initial advertisement to the distribution of appointment letters. Despite a carefully designed process for transparency and equity, specific challenges emerged. The following overview delves into past examination procedures, shedding light on potential issues associated with manual aspects. Despite the process’s careful design for fairness, challenges tied to manual procedures jeopardized the standardization of examination papers, introducing possibilities of delays and biases. With an increasing number of exam takers, the risks heightened, especially concerning storage, transitions, and the involvement of various stakeholders.

Manual Question Paper Preparation and Randomization

Within PSACS, diverse authorities contributed to crafting question papers, each calibrated with varying difficulty levels in a decentralized fashion. While this approach aimed to encompass diverse perspectives, its inherent challenges included a lack of standardization and vulnerability to human errors. The involvement of multiple stakeholders, though well-intentioned, risked delays in the examination timeline. Post-question paper preparation, the examination controller assumed the manual task of randomizing and creating sets with distinct difficulty levels. This demanding process, laden with extensive human intervention, posed a palpable risk of bias, underscoring the need for a more streamlined approach.

Question Paper Security and Exam Setup Challenges

The manual creation of question papers involved a time-intensive process, including document file generation, printing, and safeguarding physical sets. This raised acute concerns about question paper security, necessitating urgent comprehensive solutions to address potential leaks and mishandling fears. Additionally, organizing exams relied on a manual approach, demanding meticulous attention to detail from overall structure to question compilation. The absence of a digital trail cast shadows on transparency and accountability, impeding efforts to trace individuals responsible for specific exam setups.

Student Registration, Admit Card, and Application Scrutiny Challenges

Student registration for exams remained a manual endeavor, involving substantial paperwork that heightened the risk of errors. This manual process demanded significant improvement to enhance accuracy and efficiency in the recruitment process. Critical to the process, admit cards were manually created, introducing complexity to the recruitment workflow. This time-consuming manual approach amplified the risk of errors, challenging the overall efficiency of the process and calling for a more seamless solution. Beyond the written test, the scrutiny of applications was a manual affair conducted by a committee, introducing subjectivity to the evaluation process. This manual scrutiny, particularly during the review of answers to question papers, opened avenues for potential discrepancies in the selection process.

Revolutionizing PSACS Recruitment: A Blockchain-Powered Approach to Prevent Question Paper Leaks

The integration of blockchain in the PSACS recruitment process offered a transformative solution, leveraging decentralization and transparency to fortify the system against inherent challenges.

  • Edublock Pro’s Impactful Solutions: Edublock Pro, a dedicated blockchain platform, addressed critical concerns in traditional examination systems, presenting an efficient and secure alternative.
  • Eliminated Question Paper Leaks: Using advanced cryptography, Edublock Pro eradicated the risk of leaks by securely encrypting questions in real-time. Sets were generated dynamically, ensuring content remained encrypted until exam centers and invigilators unlocked them.
  • Operational Architecture: The platform’s design seamlessly integrated blockchain technology, ensuring security, transparency, and improved efficiency. Stakeholder onboarding, examination setup, multi-level validation, student scrutiny, paper assignment, and unlocking processes were orchestrated for reliability.

Through the Blockchain Integration for accountability, every action, starting from stakeholder onboarding to decrypting and paper distribution is precisely documented on the blockchain as described in Figures 1 and 2. This meticulous recording establishes an unchangeable audit trail, ensuring transparency and accountability at every stage of the process.

Implementation Roadmap

The implementation roadmap marks a significant stride in integrating EduBlock Pro into the recruitment procedures at the PSACS. Notably, EduBlock Pro played a crucial role in the recruitment drives for two key positions at PSACS: Staff Nurse and Medical Lab Technician (MLT). The Medical Lab Technician recruitment garnered 141 applicants, with an impressive 75 candidates actively participating in the examination. Similarly, for the Staff Nurse position, 176 applicants applied, and 53 candidates took part in the examination, underscoring the platform’s effectiveness in managing a substantial applicant pool and ensuring a seamless examination process as depicted in Figure 3.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Blockchain technology serves as a transformative solution, eliminating the persistent threat of question paper leaks through advanced cryptography. Its integration into the PSACS recruitment

The process represents a significant advancement, offering a secure and technologically advanced alternative to traditional examination methods. This holistic approach heralds a new era of secure recruitment examinations at PSACS, where technology becomes the guardian of academic integrity, an enabler of educational advancement, and a protector of public investments. It’s time to redefine examinations—an era where fairness, transparency, and security converge for unparalleled academic excellence.

Views Expressed By: Ms. Resham Sethi, Ms. Anushri Israni2, Mr. Nikhil Uppal3, Mr. Shashi Pal4, Mr. Vikram R Singh5, Dr. Harpeet Kaur6, Dr. Karthik Adapa, IAS7.

References:

    1. Government of Punjab
    2. Government of Punjab
    3. EduBlock Pro, a subsidiary of Antier Solutions, Mohali India
    4. EduBlock Pro, a subsidiary of Antier Solutions, Mohali India
    5. EduBlock Pro, a subsidiary of Antier Solutions, Mohali India
    6. Government of Punjab
    7. Government of Punjab
    8. Mondal, D. (2023, March). Students hit with over 70 paper leak cases in 7 years. Retrieved from The Guardian : https://sundayguardianlive.com/news/students-hit-with-over-70-paper-leak-cases-in-7-years
    9. Parihar, R. (2023, August ). Why exam paper leaks rattle government recruitment in Rajasthan. Retrieved from India Today: https://www.indiatoday.in/india-today-insight/story/why-exam-paper-leaks-rattle-government-recruitment-in-rajasthan- 2317386-2023-01-04
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    14. et. al., T. M. (2021). Blockchain-based Framework for Online Entrance Examination and Score Card Verification System. Turkish Journal of Computer and Mathematics Education (TURCOMAT), 12(1S), 388–398. Retrieved from https://turcomat.org/index.php/turkbilmat/article/view/1868
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