SUBHASH MISHRA
Dhanbad, Oct 15: After the postgraduate (PG) answer books evaluation scandal, more scam skeletons have tumbled out of the cupboard of the examination department of the five-year-old Binod Bihari Mahto Koylanchal University (BBMKU) Dhanbad.
Commerce teacher sets law exam paper
As per sources, a teacher of the commerce department was assigned to set the question paper for the law examination, brushing aside all norms of the university.
The matter came to the fore when the teacher’s bill was put up for payment. A senior official reportedly held up the file raising questions. The university authorities when contacted on this alleged allegation neither confirmed nor denied the charge saying that they don’t have any information.
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Contractual teacher evaluates PhD entrance test papers
Moreover, a contractual teacher was assigned to evaluate the PhD entrance test answer book even when she did not have the required qualification and experience to do so.
A retired professor of the university said that a minimum of three years of teaching experience is required to check such answer books but the said teacher lacked the experience. Despite this, the examination department assigned her the responsibility.
Triple responsibility to one teacher
The irregularities in BBMKU’s examination department do not stop here. The department appointed a teacher of an affiliated college as the director of the PG answer books evaluation centre, head examiner as well as co-examiner.
“A single teacher cannot be assigned triple responsibility at a time at an evaluation centre. If he is appointed as the director, he can’t be made the head examiner as well as co-examiner. It is wrong and the responsible person behind this step should be punished for creating such a mess,” said the retired professor of the university.
It is now on official record that the above-said teacher evaluated 6,798 answer books alone at the centre and duly sent the bills to the university. The bill has reportedly become a bone of contention among the authorities at the university. The concerned authorities reportedly have held up the bills, seeking several clarifications.
Wrongful bills of contractor troubles authorities
Inflated bills of electronic goods by the contractors have also become a bone of contention among the senior authorities of the university. One section mounts pressure on the committee to clear the bills while another objects to it.
Sources said that a contractor has put the prices of electronic items 100 times more than the market price. A fan condenser which is available at Rs 25 in the market, has been put up for Rs 240 on the bill. Prices of bulbs and other items are also similarly inflated on the bills.
No elected members of the University Finance Committee after 2018
Notably, the finance committee clears the bills of the university. However, in BBMKU Dhanbad, this committee is defunct. A retired professor, who also held a senior post in the university, said that as per the statute, the vice-chancellor is the chairman of the committee while the Finance Officer (FO), one invitee person and four elected persons are the members.
However, there are no elected members in the committee so far to endorse the bills. Those who were members earlier have now retired and no election has been held after 2018.
The first election for Finance Committee members was held in 2018. Prof KK Pathak (HoD of commerce of RSP College Jharia), Prof B Kumar (PG HoD chemistry), Prof LB Singh (HoD Zoology who later became DSW) and Dr Renuka Thakur (the then principal of SSLNT Women’s College Dhanbad) were elected through votes. Teachers of the university are the voters in the election.
