‘Pass me in the examinations or I will.....’ an engineering student warned the examiner in his answer sheet to pass him.

A third-semester diploma engineering student of the Gujarat Technological University (GTU) might face a level-4 penalty as the examiner found a written plea requesting the student be passed. What shocked officials was the inclusion of a direct threat, warning the teacher of harm if the student failed the exam. 

Level-4 penalty could lead to severe consequences, including the cancellation of all summer semester results and debarment from the next three semesters. 

A staggering 142 students were caught engaging in various forms of cheating during the recent summer semester exams, according to official reports.

The students employed different tactics to gain an unfair advantage, including smuggling chits into the examination hall, tampering with answer books, and writing unauthorised notes within their answer sheets. The university administration has responded swiftly, imposing penalties based on the severity of each offence.

Among the 142 cases, the penalties have been classified into four levels.

One student has been handed a level-1 penalty, 23 students face a level-2 penalty, 60 students face a level-3 penalty, and one student has been slapped with a level-4 penalty—the most severe.

GTU penalty classifications

Level 1 (A to K): Declare the examinee as ‘Fail’ in the respective subject of the current semester examination.

Level 2 (A to E): Cancel the result of all subjects of the current semester examination.

Level 3 (A to N): Cancel the result of all subjects of the summer/winter examination and debar the examinee from appearing in future examinations.

Level 4 (A to D): Cancel the result of all subjects of the current semester examination and debar the examinee from appearing in the next three summer/winter examinations.

Level 5 (A to D): Cancel the result of all subjects of the current semester examination and debar the examinee from appearing in the next four summer/winter examinations.

Level 6 (C): Defer the submission of thesis/dissertation/project work for 3 years (ME/M.Pharm/MBA/MCA) or 5 years (PhD). Resubmission must be with a new topic and fresh work.

Level 7: The examination committee decides the penalty based on the nature and complexity of the examinee's involvement.

Also read:

GTU mass cheating case: 39 engineering students under probe

GTU Triple-C exam fraud: 39 candidates cleared it after marks increased