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.

The Higher Education Department in Bhubaneswar has discovered several colleges admitting students for the 2023-24 academic session without valid recognition, violating the Odisha Education Act of 1969. Despite the provision of temporary recognition for a cumulative duration of seven years, these colleges continue to operate without proper authorization. The Department has directed regional directors of education to compile a comprehensive list of such institutions. Meanwhile, in Uttar Pradesh, the Education Department has successfully improved attendance in Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas through the use of face-recognition technology, addressing issues of ghost students and proxy teachers.

Several reports revealed that a Jalandhar-based study abroad company filed around 700 fraudulent student visa applications between 2018 and 2022. After completing their courses and fulfilling work requirements, the students applied for permanent residency in Canada and submitted supporting documents. The Canadian Border Security Agency examined the documents based on which the visas were granted to the students and discovered that the letters of admission were false. The Government is investigating reports of fraudulent admission letters.

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 Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) has booked eight persons, including four former employees of the varsity and four private persons for criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust, cheating, forgery, and falsification of accounts. While perusing the details of registration and tuition fees of 16,580 students, the DVAC officials found that the serial number of one demand draft was used multiple times against several students.

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.