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The incidence of plagiarism in personal statements submitted by students for British university applications has doubled in the last two years, with India having the highest number of such cases among international applicants. According to a spokesperson from the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service, 7,300 applications were flagged for plagiarism in 2023, with 765 from India, compared to 3,559 flagged in 2021.

Some universities in Asia described the artificial intelligence writing tools ChatGPT as the use of “unfair means” while others consider it as a temporary measure until proper policies for their use can be worked out. Unless a student has the course instructor’s written permission, the use of ChatGPT will be regarded as using other people’s work and will be treated in the same way as plagiarism. Teachers can set supplementary oral or written exams or adopt other measures if they suspect ChatGPT or another AI-based tool has been used.

Following the impact of Covid-19 on the education sector, learning institutions worldwide are adopting digital tools that help assessors identify original content, and are working with their faculty to develop an awareness of academic integrity. The Learning Spiral survey shows over 70 per cent of students in India admitted to cheating in online exams, and others admitted to copying answers word-for-word without offering citations.

The University Grants Commission (UGC) has taken strict action against 21 fake universities discovered across the country, including seven in Delhi. The information about these fake institutions came to light through public protests, student complaints, and references from states, Union Territories, and even local authorities. The UGC has issued warnings against these universities and published their names on its official website.

A survey of 51,000 college and high school students reveals that the average percentage of plagiarism before and after Covid increased from 26% to 45% in the Netherlands, from 37% to 49% in France and from 42% to 53% in India. The new anti-plagiarism software CopyLeaks uses Artificial Intelligence to detect plagiarism and copyright infringement. CopyLeaks can be used as a site license purchased by a school, institution, or publication, by individual writers who pay based on the number of words and pages checked.

Gulbarga University vice-chancellor caught five students copying in the first semester examinations during a visit to a college in Kalaburagi district. Three students have also been arrested for using mobile phones during an examination in another incident. Gulbarga University authorities have been accused of leaking question papers and encouraging examination malpractices. In May, the BCom examination had to be postponed after the fifth-semester question paper for Management Accounting got leaked.

According to the “Cyber Threats Targeting the Global Education Sector” report, there has been a 20 per cent increase in cyber threats to the global education sector in the first three months of 2022. 58% of threats were targeted at Indian- based educational institutions and online platforms. The USA was the second most affected country globally with 19 recorded incidents. The databases leaked from educational institutions contain personally identifiable information of students and their families, website user records and credentials and examination results.

A survey on plagiarism conducted by Copyleaks collected responses from 31,000 colleges and 20,000 high school students worldwide. The study shows that the largest increase in plagiarized submissions was recorded in the Netherlands, with 26% of cases before COVID compared to 45% after the pandemic, i.e. a total increase of 19%. This was followed by France (37% before vs. 49% after, i.e. - a 12% jump), closely followed by India (42% before vs. 53% after; i.e.- an 11% jump). The UK, Canada and Germany all saw a 4% increase in plagiarism cases.

There have been reports of students in Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Bombay, IIT-Kharagpur, and IIT-Ropar using WhatsApp groups to share solutions to questions, and using breaks to call their peers during the examinations. A professor reports that 95% of students cheat. To prevent it, the Ministry of Education has established a committee to develop a common protocol for online internal examinations, and universities are considering the introduction of a code of honour.