'Jai Shri Ram' becomes a ticket to clearing exams in UP varsity, professors suspended

The Veer Bahadur Singh Purvanchal University, a state-run university in Jaunpur of Uttar Pradesh, on Wednesday (April 24) suspended after an RTI response revealed they allegedly helped four students clear exams with 56 per cent marks after writing 'Jai Shri Ram' and names of Indian team cricketers as part of several answers.

Dr Vandana Singh, Vice-chancellor of Veer Bahadur Singh Purvanchal University, said the varsity's examination committee convened a meeting over the matter and found two teachers, Dr Ashutosh Gupta and Dr Vinay Verma, guilty of wrong evaluation.

A decision was also made to take disciplinary action relieving them of their duties and it will be presented before the Executive Council for a final decision, the Vice Chancellor said.

Professors extorted money

An investigation into the allegation over the professors extorting money from the four first-year students is underway, she added.

The matter came to light when Divyanshu Singh, a former student of the university, sought information under the Right to Information Act after coming to know about some students of first and second semester of the D Pharma course were passed in a test despite writing wrong answers.

Singh said he had filed the RTI on August 3, 2023 and also demanded re-evaluation of the answer sheets of the students in question.

‘Jai Shri Ram’ for answers

According to the RTI response, the students had written 'Jai Shri Ram' and names of several Indian cricketers such as Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Hardik Pandya in the middle of their answers, Singh said.

The students scored 42 marks out of 75, which is 56 per cent, he added.

With these facts emerging in the RTI response, the former student wrote a letter to Raj Bhavan, alleging that a professor had passed the students by taking money.

Raj Bhavan orders probe

Singh also sent complaints along with affidavits to the Raj Bhavan, taking cognisance of which the governor’s office ordered investigation and action on December 21, 2023, he said.

The university set up an inquiry committee to probe the matter. A re-evaluation by two external examiners was conducted in which the four students scored zero.

The inquiry committee in its report to the varsity's vice-chancellor held the two teachers guilty, he said. A meeting was held on Wednesday (April 24) and the two professors were suspended.

(With agency inputs)