M A I N   N E W S

Bargain offer which bombed
From Jangveer Singh
Tribune News Service

RAJPURA , May 7 — It seemed like a lock, stock and barrel bargain. Pay a sum and the exam will be taken care of. Everything from being ferried to and fro from Delhi, selection of a congenial exam centre, copying and if necessary, access to other students’ answer sheets to ensure hundred per cent success.

The offer seemed too good to turn down for many students of Delhi who wanted to clear their class twelve examinations from the National Open School without studying for them. Everyone paid upfront. The parents of some of the students also accompanied them to Rajpura, which was chosen as their private academy. Incharge could even avail of the services of a dharamshala for their stay as his in laws were based at Rajpura. There was even a canteen at the dharamshala where students could eat and two Swaraj Mazda vehicles to ferry students to their Patiala examination centre and back .

The students who jumped at the offer but saw their plan go awry after being caught by the police are now in denial mode. Talking to TNS at Rajpura city police station before being taken to Patiala Central Jail, the students denied the police version of a racket completely. They said they were not aware of any racket being run by private academy owners to enable mass copying for students to get degrees from the National Open School.

Vikas Jain of Delhi said he and other students had requested the Open School Examination Centre Superintendent at Blossom School at Patiala to help them as they were not able to complete their Economics paper as well as they expected and would not be able to get admission in a good college should they fare badly.

All the students spoke by rote, as if tutored in a single version. Tarun of Shahdara said he and the others had paid Rs 2,000 each to Private Academy owner Suresh Kumar for tuition. He said he had attended tuition classes for two months before coming to give the National Open School papers. However, when asked where he had studied he said he did not remember. Other students also could not remember the location of their coaching centre.

The students, when asked why they came all the way to Patiala to give their papers could not reply convincingly. They said they had been advised to stay in Rajpura by family friends besides claiming it was the first time that papers had been brought to them at the dharamshala. They said they had attempted all other papers at the exam centre itself.

Interestingly the answersheets most of the students have only the question paper itself written on the first page with none of them attempting a single answer. The next page has neatly written answers. But the answers end suddenly implying they were caught in the act. Interestingly the driver of the academy owner, Suresh Kumar was also appearing for the exam. His answersheet does not have the signature of either the invigilator on duty or the centre superintendent, implying he may not have attended the examination but was supplied answersheets later.

Academy head Suresh Kumar, who brought the students here in his charge, was more forthright and exposed the entire network himself. He said the centre had been chosen as cheating was allowed at the centre by the invigilators after they were suitably bribed last year. He said students had been brought to the centre this year following an ‘understanding’ with the centre head. He claimed he had given a substantial sum of money to the centre head, Madhu Pathak. He said he took a consolidated sum of Rs ten thousand from each student, which included board and travelling expenses. However Rajpura Station House Officer, Balraj Singh, who played a key role in unearthing the scandal, said according to his information more money was taken for the purpose as the Academy owner paid Rs one thousand per day to the Dharamshala management besides other expenses.

Meanwhile, Blossoms School, Patiala, Principal, Mrs Ravi Singh said Mrs Madhu Pathak had been suspended from the school. Mrs Singh said the school management abhorred such practices and would cooperate with the investigating authorities and the National Open School in the case.

While girl students who had been bailed out yesterday have left for their homes, the boys will be transferred to the Central Jail at Patiala today as no one came forward to give sureties for their bail bonds. The boys themselves have refrained from phoning their families.