More than 300 students pursuing diploma courses in the state lost the opportunity to appear for examinations after they were caught indulging in malpractice during the recently held examinations.
In the examinations held in August, 402 students were caught cheating in the examinations.
But the expert committee constituted by the department of technical education to conduct an inquiry gave a clean chit to 27 candidates as it was proved that they did not indulge in malpractice.
A total of 37 students were barred from writing one-semester examinations and 332 students were barred from appearing for particular subjects.
Department sources said that a majority of these students tried to cheat in the examinations, using chits and gadgets like mobile phones.
Some students were caught with digital calculators which are banned in the exams.
"During the inquiry, some students said they indulged in malpractice as they were not prepared for the examinations, thinking that the department would promote them," said an official from the department.
Despite strict vigilance and conducting examinations under the surveillance of CCTV cameras, the cases of malpractice have not come down. During the previous exams, the total number of malpractice cases registered was 278.
Officials said, based on the severity of the malpractice, there are options to even register criminal cases against the students.
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