Disgraced, as we have been by
our rulers in the comity of nations, we as a nation itself has reached at the
climax of corruption-- this monster has so tightly clinched us in its clutches
that it seems impossible that we ourselves be able to mend our ways and thwart
the natural phenomenon of ‘replacement’. Pervez Musharaf is quite right to show
the true picture of the people of this country in the western capitals-- as
being unruly to be considered at par with those residing in Europe or America.
In this script I am going to give a glimpse of corruption our nation has
indulged in-- of an examination center which will be sufficient for the level of
corruption we have reached at.
This description is base on facts and the scribe is the eye witness to all those
happenings occurred during the process of ‘annual testing’ at the end of the
academic year. This test (exam) was being conducted by the BISE, Kohat. I don’t
think the situation in other parts, regarding the testing procedure, will be
different from that of Kohat Board.
The High School to which this exam center was sanctioned by the BISE, Kohat has
not the required strength of students to which a center could be sanctioned.
Usually if the students of a school are not enough for an exam center, the
students of two or three school are jointly given a center where they take their
exam.
But in order to have the exam center in the school, the teachers of that school
had paid to BISE, Kohat some money from Rs.25000 to 30000 to have the exam
center in the said school. That much money had been collected from the students,
Rs. 400 each. For the entertainment and dinner of the exam staff, some
additional money had also been levied from the students of 9th and 10th class of
the said school.
In such like circumstances exam was conducted very smoothly and the doors of
cheating were opened to the students of the said school. And for those coming
from other school, the staff members had become very poise and true
educationists always reminding them the curses of cheating.
In that exam center nearly 30% impersonation cases were detected which proved
very beneficial for the staff. They were given amnesty for this crime for Rs.
1500 to 3000 each. A boy was telling me that a staff member took Rs. 1500 from
him and gave assurance against any criminal case. He was taking exam of 10th
class for his primary pass brother and was caught red handed. After that
detection and amnesty, his brother started taking his exam on his own.
Apart from the collective dinner program, the staff members were enjoying
individual dinner invitation every day. They were openly demanding it from the
supporters of the candidates. A staff member was not indulging in all those
practices and was not allowing the students to copy from the guides books, the
superintendent tried to keep him away from the students of the said school, and
kept him in rotation; he could not remain in a single room for more than thirty
minutes.
Those who had paid the superintendent some handsome amount were also allowed to
solve their papers outside the center. Once a staff member was rebuked and
openly insulted by a person because he was not allowing his brother to solve his
paper from the guide books though the staff member had taken some handsome
amount from that person.
Some cases of deliberate teasing by the superintendent were also reported to
this scribe in order to get the attentions of the relatives of the students for
cooperation in the form of rich dinners or cash. A student told me that his
answer sheet was snatched three minutes before the due time and a sentence was
left incomplete which could affect the central idea of the problem. The said
student was not cooperating with the staff member in the form of dinner and
other methods of cooperation. The students wept before the superintendent but in
vain. He could write that sentence without any outside help!
Outside the exam center a scene of a festival could be seen where the relatives
of the student’s were rushing here and there in order to convey the required
material to their sons and brothers. Thanks to the cell phone availability that
the first objective type questions part would be conveyed to the students before
the distribution of the answer sheets even.
It is also said that duty in an exam center is subject to bargaining in BISE,
Kohat. You can buy a duty for yourself through approach or by paying Rs.500 to
1000 to the administrative staff of the board.
And some professional teachers enjoy duties during each exam throughout the exam
season. It is also said that in the tribal and semi-tribal areas the
superintendent come with a Suzuki Car and the staff member with motor cycle.
Such is the exams taking process of our boards. If someone thinks that a nation
with that kind of educational system will have rulers that won’t bow down
through a single telephone call or won’t sell them to foreign countries for some
petty gains, needs a psychiatrist consultation. I think this nation fully
deserve to have such kind of rulers.