The Hindu : Exams reduced to a farce in Manipur colleges

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Mar 31, 2002

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National

Exams reduced to a farce in Manipur colleges

By Our Correspondent

IMPHAL MARCH 30 . In the just-concluded higher secondary examinations in Manipur, extremists belonging to the KYKL, a proscribed underground organisation, rounded up three teachers and eight youths and ``kneecapped'' them.

In defiance of a ``curfew'' imposed by the KYKL, these persons had passed on answers and torn pages of books to some examinees.

On their part, officials expelled over 20 examinees and detected malpractices in some examination centres.

Encouraged by the impact of the campaign, the KYKL further announced that such teachers and ``helpers'' would be given deterrent punishment during the current matriculation examination.

Some time ago, KYKL ultras ``kneecapped'' some professors of the Manipur University. The charge against them was that they took money for special favours at the time of admissions and for tampering with marks.

For obvious reasons, the inquiry committee constituted by the University authorities did not come out with a report. The Vice-Chancellor, H. Tombi, seems disinclined to punish the professors since they had already been tormented by the media attention.

Examinations have been reduced to a farce in Manipur. Most students resort to mass copying and even those who pass in first division do not get admission in other States. The State Government clamps prohibitory orders under Section 144 Cr.P.C. in several areas during the examinations and deploys heavily armed policemen at the centres.

In the absence of relevant laws, police usually let off offending teachers and helpers after tonsuring their heads in some cases and roughing them up.

It is said that ahead of the examinations, there is a scramble among students to arrange lunch and dinner for teachers who will be invigilating. Costly liquor and money change hands.

The budget session of the Manipur Assembly was rocked by the scam in the Council of Higher Secondary Education. A students' organisation launched an agitation demanding action against a highly-placed official.

The students produced ``documentary evidence'' to show that he had tampered with his daughter's marks.

Results declared by the Manipur University, the only one in the State, are often faulty. Students are sometimes told they had failed and asked to return their mark-sheets and certificates after they had secured admission in technical, medical and other institutions outside the State.

The documents, it would say, were issued due to ``oversight''. Brilliant students expecting ranks were declared failed. One such student had committed suicide. A few days later, it was found that he had, in fact, emerged among the top three.

The academic atmosphere is vitiated by political interference and the presence of undesirable ``teachers''. The CBI is looking into 33 cases of fake appointments of teachers with doubtful educational testimonials.

The KYKL launched `Operation New Kangleipak' to "spruce up the educational system". Some time ago, they whisked away the Education Director, Shamu, and shot him in the leg as a punishment for alleged corruption. The CBI is also looking into the misappropriation of a few crores of rupees while paying arrears to teachers.

About 4.5 lakh educated youth are in the live register of the employment exchanges in the State.

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