Many years ago, when I was studying in one unique and famous University, in one of the top industrial states of the country, certain college teachers used to punish the faulting and erring students by straight away slapping them on their faces in the presence of all the other students who all were sitting there and writing their answers for the examination papers.
The fault was that he was suspected of copying, which might be doubtful with 50-50 % probability. Such students were debarred from the examinations, and what more further that I don't know. This was terrible, demoralizing, and even inhuman; but since I was a junior teaching assistant, and these teachers were senior and regulars, I didn't have any courage to tell anything to them, besides I had to take some instructions from them, since I was pursuing my M.E. degree.
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In McMaster University, Canada, where I was pursuing my PhD, and during exams, I used to be an invigilator, we were told that, if a student is suspected of copying, he/she should fill up a small form, and it should be signed by both the student and the invigilator, and the form should be handed over to the exam coordinator, and the student will be allowed to continue with writing the paper.
Then the coordinator will put the form alongwith the bundle of the answer books of that paper, seal and this packet would be handed over to the setter of that paper, who while correcting the answer book of that particular faulting student, would read the signed form and take the decision on what marks to give to that student.
Thus, such erring students are not overly penalized, but they are warned.
This is really a far more honourable manner of treating the students, and greatly democratic procedure rather than the invigilator slapping the students, a horrible situation in the entire exam hall wherein the other students are disturbed. And that too in an another democratic country.
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