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| Several degrees of corruption | | |
- By Joginder Singh
The unabashed and blatant use of unfair means, both during examinations and later during marking, is a shocking reminder of the fact that our examination system, in most places, is in a state of decay. Recently, the police in Agra found an "evaluation centre" where some youngsters were checking answer sheets of
professional courses like BBA, BCA, BPT and Law from various institutes affiliated to the Chaudhary Charan Singh University, Meerut. While some of those checking the answer sheets were students of Class V or VI, the others were graduates. Neither were they qualified nor competent to check the answer sheets. According to investigation, the criteria that were set for evaluation were the length or the size of the answers and the quality and dimension of the diagrams. It also appears that marks were awarded according to payments made. The registrar of the university and his son were involved in the racket. Both have since been arrested.
This is one more example that shows that our examination system has reached the point of collapse. Since the intensity of using unfair means is too high in almost all states, education in our country seems to have become a joke. It has failed to serve its main purpose as excellence has been discarded. Mass copying and plagiarism have become the norms in most examination centres. Be it in primary schools or in examinations like that of CAT or the all-India entrance examination for post-graduate medical courses which had to be cancelled in April 2006 by the health ministry, the same story is being repeated. The Supreme Court has in fact ordered a CBI inquiry of the medical entrance examination.
The prevalence of corruption can be judged from the major scams that took place in the Punjab and Maharashtra Public Service Commissions, as well as the "cash for kidneys" and "cash for selection of teachers" scams in Haryana. All sorts of unfair practices are being adopted, including mass copying, impersonation, teachers dictating answers, provision of separate rooms for "special" students etc. Sometimes, "facilities" for copying are provided to students according to the amount paid by them.
Also, fake universities and fake degrees have become a bane for the country. As IPS trainees — as I was in 1961 — the Law that we were taught in the Training Academy was almost equal to what was taught to get an LLB degree. But that training did not confer any degree on us. So I thought that it would be a good idea to have a degree in law and a few years ago, before I retired, I saw an advertisement which ensured a law degree from a university in India. Without disclosing my identity, I wrote a letter to the advertiser saying that I was interested in studying law as a private candidate. I promptly got a letter written in poor Hindi, that it was late for admission, but a certain amount of money would ensure not only enrolment but also a Law degree, even if I did not appear for the examination.
Naturally, when students qualify after adopting such unfair means, they expect employment on the basis of expensively procured certificates. A former chairman of the Union Public Service Commission told me that for the job of principal of a government-run institution, the UPSC received applications from many highly qualified candidates. One of them fitted the bill perfectly, but when he was interviewed, it was found that he could not answer any question on the subject in which he had reportedly secured 91%. The UPSC chairman got suspicious and asked his office to write to the university from where the man had got his degree. The reply they got was that no such person was ever enrolled in their university.
Where exactly education is headed is not clear even to the government. A lot has been said about the benefits of mass education and a Nobel laureate has also urged that we must do more on this score. But does it really serve the purpose of education if we have students who cannot read or write, being promoted from one class to another in the name of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan to meet government targets? An organisation dealing with minority education has recommended that passing in English and Mathematics should not be made compulsory up to certain classes. Does this mean that if we find some subjects difficult we forget about them? Instead of education for all, the campaigns for universal education have aimed at merely generating figures — the number of people who have been educated by their drive. Thus, we are neither spreading education nor literacy.
The answers to these problems are with parents, teachers and the governments. Parents should insist that their children study, instead of depending on influence or money to get them through. Teachers should be made accountable for ensuring fair and honest means during examinations. Any teacher found indulging in malpractices should have no future in the education department. The government on its part should not politicise the examination system and enforce accountability at all levels.
Joginder Singh is a former director of the CBI
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