Photographs of parents scaling the walls of an exam hall to pass cheat sheets to students offer the latest evidence of India's failing school system. The examinees in Bihar, a largely rural state, were in the matriculating class, known as class ten. A good mark might be a gateway to college and a decent job in government, computing or banking. Sadly a big decline in school standards has made this far harder to achieve, at least by fair means. Hence the lengths-or heights-to which parents will go. A recent report on education in rural India shows how far standards have slipped in the past decade. Fewer than half of pupils in class five could properly read a text written for class two pupils. Almost a fifth in class two could not recognise single-digit numbers.
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