CET: Imitators captured using facial recognition apps, survey ordering

Students who conducted safety inspections at the examination center of Sheshadripuram College in Bangalore on Wednesday. |Picture source: K. Murali Kumar

Candidates who attempt to appear at the last minute in the CET-2025 exam were identified as imitators through a QR code-based facial recognition application. The incident occurred at the Silver Valley Public Pu University Examination Center in Malleswaram, and authorities have ordered an investigation into the incident.

A woman named Tuba Fathima Jameel arrived in the morning and wrote her math paper. After arriving, she went straight to the bathroom and stayed there for nearly an hour. Just as the exam was about to begin, she came out and tried to enter the lobby by showing an admission card with a QR code.

But when her photos are captured and verified through the facial recognition app, it shows that she is not a real candidate. According to a statement issued by H. Prasanna (KEA), executive director of the Karnataka Examinations Agency (KEA), authorities can bring it to the attention of the principal before.

It was later discovered that she fixed the photo on the admission card belonging to the actual candidate Tabu Naz. She also took the wrong test date. The president of the university was instructed to submit a detailed report and video of the incident. Mr Prasanna added that legal action will follow.

The new facial recognition system introduced by KEA, introduced by detection imitators, has proven to be effective. On the second day of implementation, all verifications were successfully performed using the application without any technical failure reports.

Mr. Prasanna visited the Government PU Academy Examination Centre in Malleswaram with Administrator Islauvuddin Gadyal. They verified the candidates using a QR code-based facial recognition application developed by KEA, expressing satisfaction with their performance. The officers scanned the QR code, captured the candidate photos, and verified their identities on the spot. This is the first time that KEA has implemented such a system.

Of the total 3,30,808 candidates, 3,04,186 (91.95%) wrote the math exam, of which 2,39,848 (90.90%) wrote the life science exam in 2,63,867 of the 2,63,867 candidates held Thursday. Mr Prasana said that considering these two days, 92.93% of candidates appeared in the two-day CET-2025.