The decision has been taken after this year’s toppers failed to answer basic questions on camera, reports M I Khan from Patna.
In a bid to send out a strong message and to crack down on the nexus between the 'education mafia' and state officials, the Bihar government has decided to conduct interviews of all class 12 exam toppers from next year before preparing the final merit list.
"The state education department has decided to conduct interviews of class 12 exam toppers from next year to test their merit and quality before making the results public," an official of the department told Rediff.com.
On Wednesday, the Bihar School Examination Control Board had stayed the results of this year’s class 12 (science and arts) exams following a controversy over the toppers' knowledge after they failed to answer basic questions on camera. The department will now interview them to evaluate their merit. “A team of experts will examine whether the toppers were helped by the 'education mafia',” the official said.
Bihar Education Minister Ashok Choudhary on Wednesday told news-persons that the government had made a lot of efforts to improve the state’s image after video clips of mass cheating in state board exams went viral on social media last year. “We cannot allow anyone to play with the state’s image as we have conducted ‘cheating-free’ exams this time. I will act tough against the 'education mafia' for spoiling our hard work,” he said.
Choudhary admitted that he had information about the 'education mafia' which organises everything for the students. “We will not spare the 'education mafia' and won’t let them defame our state’s image anymore,” he said.
The BSECB on Wednesday put the results of class 12 (science and arts) toppers Rubi Rai and Saurabh Sresth on hold and ordered them to appear before a team of experts for an interview and written examination on June 3 in Patna.
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On Tuesday, Rubi, who topped the Bihar board’s class 12 (arts) examination, said political science was a subject concerned with cooking. She also failed to pronounce it correctly and called it ‘prodical science’. Rubi didn't know much about her other subjects also. She even said she had obtained 444 marks out of 600, while the exam was for 500 marks only.
Saurabh Sresth, who topped the intermediate exams in science, said aluminium was the most reactive element of the Periodic Table. When asked about sodium (which is the most reactive element) and its electron configuration, he failed to reply.
Rampant mass cheating in Bihar board exams had been reported till last year. This year, however, it was said to be under control. The board claimed that this year's exams were ‘free of cheating’ and cited the steep fall in pass percentage as a proof.
“Strict measures against cheating, like installation of CCTV cameras and prohibitory orders during the board exams conducted in February this year, resulted in a fall in pass percentage,” a board official said.
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