M A I N   N E W S

Boy passes same exam from 2 schools!
From Chander Parkash
Tribune News Service

BATHINDA, Nov 28 — Can a student pass a board examination of the same class from two schools in the same year?

It is possible, if the board happens to be the Punjab School Education Board (PSEB) and the student is a son of a senior official of the state Education Department.

The board authorities created a ‘record’ when they declared Deepak Navraj Singh Mann as having passed the class VIII board examination, conducted in February, 1997, from two schools — MSD Public Senior Secondary School, Bathinda, under roll number 173769, and Government Middle School, Amargarh village, under roll number 161538.

Police sources said that a case under Sections 420, 468, 471 and 120-B of the IPC had been registered against Barjinder Singh Mann, Principal, Government School, Naruana village and father of Deepak, for his alleged involvement in this fraud on November 26.

In the FIR registered against Mann after an inquiry by a police official, it was mentioned that he first showed his son as being a student of Government School of Boys, Goniana Mandi, from April 4 to 15, 1996, and got a fake school transfer certificate from the authorities.

On the basis of this fake school transfer certificate, Mann got his son admitted to MSD Public Senior Secondary School (with 4831 registration number) on April 22, 1996. He then showed his son as having got admission to Dasmesh School, Civil Lines, Bathinda, (registration number 1494) and got a transfer certificate from this school too.

On the basis of this school transfer certificate, Mann got his son admitted to Government School, Amargarh village.

Mr Mann then made arrangements for sending the examination forms of his son from both MSD School and Government School, Amargarh. On the examination form sent from Government School, Amargarh, Deepak was issued 161538 roll number, while from MSD Public School, Bathinda, he got roll number 173769.

Deepak, allegedly using the influence of his father, appeared in both examinations, conducted on the same date at different examination centres in this districts, and was declared passed in both examinations by the board.

The police came to know about the matter when a formal complaint in this regard was made to the SSP, Dr Jatinder Kumar Jain, by a member of the Local CAD Education Department, Bathinda. The complainant alleged that Mann had done all this to get a rural area certificate for his son.

Mann, who was working as Principal of Government School, Naruana, earlier, is now working as Deputy District Education Officer, Bathinda, the police sources added.

No arrest had been made in this connection though a case had been registered.