Every so often, we hear some heartening stories about kids who defy the odds to emerge triumphant; stories of academic achievements from underprivileged kids and stories about the ultimate victory of the human spirit in unlikely circumstances. Then we hear about academic achievements that are not only suspect but raise serious questions about what students study if at all, the veracity of the marks they score and the very basis of the educational system.
The Bihar ‘topper’ video you must see
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvW3NLvoYS4
As you can see from this video, one Arts ‘topper’ Ruby Rai was asked a question about one of her alleged subjects. She scored 444 out of 500, but when she was asked what Political Science was about, she answered that this is something to do with cooking food. Similar is science topper Saurabh Shreshth who, when asked a fairly basic about chemistry was as clueless. Both students are from the Bishun Rai College in Hajipur which has something of a reputation of producing toppers through some very questionable means.
The questions such ‘toppers’ raise
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A probe and review of these exam results has been ordered, but there are some serious questions that need to be asked. It is not just that poor quality of education and inadequate instruction are imparted in our institutions of learning that are a matter of concern.
The entire examination system seems to have flaws beyond the just the obvious problem of rewarding rote learning at the cost of genuine merit. According to reports there is a strong mafia involved in the educational system and this enables families to ‘purchase’ top marks and positions. Apparently it is possible to be a topper if you and your family have the ability to cough up sufficient moolah.
Proxy or dummy candidates being used instead of the real candidate is a problem though in this instance the people concerned have denied it. There is also the fact that exam hall invigilation is lax and paper checking entrusted into the hands of people with little time and less knowledge. All this lowers the credibility of our exam system even without laughable videos such as these doing the rounds of social media.
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Author – Reena Daruwalla
