RTI success story: Using RTI to expose the malpractice in scholarship examination
13 Mar, 2013Scholarship exams are a first step to prepare students for competitive exams and the future life as an able citizen of the country. However, father of a student who appeared for a scholarship examination has helped expose malpractices at a Navi Mumbai examination centre. It has been reported that in order to receive Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan grants, the local officials encourage misconducts to facilitate a certin number of students to get scholarships.
Father of a student who was in Class IV in 2008 got suspicious when his daughter who had appeared for the exam at Vidya Prasarak High School in Belapur stated that the supervisor had read out answers to all 50 multiple choice questions to the 25 students who had appeared for the scholarship examination.
When the complaint filed with the school and education officers by Sudhir Dani evoked no response, he filed an application under the Right to Information (RTI) Act seeking the scores of all students who appeared at the same centre in 2008. The reply revealed that 18 students out of 25 had scored 88 marks out of 100 in Marathi language paper. In October 2012, Dani filed a complaint with the Maharashtra State Council of Examinations Board (MSCEB). The investigation conducted by the MSCEB has led to blacklisting of the Belapur school of Mumbai as an examination centre while an inquiry has been initiated against the supervisor.
It has been reported that in Class 7 scholarship exams conducted in 2012, a total of 22 The provisions of this Act shall have effect notwithstanding anything inconsistent therewith contained in the Official Secrets Act, 1923 (19 of 1923), and any other law for the time being in force or in any instrument having effect by virtue of any law other than this Act. students scored a perfect scores of 300. Such a scoring has raised doubts about the manner in which the examinations are conducted.