Warangal paper leak: Did BJP leaders hatch a conspiracy?

Hyderabad: At the very outset, I’m not a great fan of the current examination system which is purely based on the memory of the students and their ability to reproduce what they have seen in the textbooks or that is playing havoc with the minds of the students. As a result, you have students who get 99.9% marks because of their rote memorization but the same students when they are tested on questions that are analytical and based on higher-order thinking skills students fall flat. As a result, they become frustrated and take extreme decisions, or they are made to feel that they are not fit for the jobs that they always dream about. So that is my first take. The entire examination system calls for a serious introspection overall. Pointing out the rampant commercialization in the education sector, let me remind you of the words of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar - “Cultivation of the mind should be the ultimate aim of human existence”.

So with regard to the question paper leak of the 10th board examinations, I wouldn't call it a leak as such. The leak is something that happens at the source. I don't think that the tenth-grade papers were leaked from the source, unlike the TSPSC papers. TSPSC papers are leaked at the source. The tenth paper was not leaked at the source, it was leaked at the examination centers for a brief period of time. It is not a classic leak as we all call it.

Having said that, the primary responsibility of the Education Department, be it the Minister, be it the Principal Secretary of Education, the Principal Secretary of Higher Education, or the Commissioner of School Education is to get the examination papers set properly in a very confidential manner. This entails getting the question papers printed in a security printing press which is known only to the commissioner of examination and then storing them properly in very well-guarded places and transporting them under police supervision to various centres. The local police should provide responsibility for the storage and transport of question papers which should be locked and stored in police stations, and the key should lie in the custody of the Chief Superintendent of the examination centre.

Then they are lifted from the police station and taken to the examination centre which is then opened in the presence of invigilators and the Chief Superintendent of the examination. So that is the time when one has to be extremely careful because till such time the police or even the Chief Examiner wouldn't know whether the question papers are in order or what the questions have been printed. They are then distributed in the halls where the invigilators distribute the papers to the student. One of the disappointing things is that the examiners and the chief superintendent of the exam centres do not allow even a single student to carry mobile, electronic gadgets, smartwatches, and for married people sometimes even mangal sutras and earrings aren't allowed. But in this case, what really surprised me was how a miscreant could enter the examination centre. Because every examination centre is guarded by police or at least a watchman. It may not be practically possible for the police to guard all the examination centres. Despite this, I am really surprised as to how the people have entered the premises of the examination with electronic gadgets and could take a photograph of the papers and circulate them outside.

The second thing is that at some places like Tandur, even invigilators themselves had access to mobile phones and these staff could take pictures of the question paper and share it. We do not know exactly the reason why the Tandur incident happened but the Warangal investigation is something that is sinister and chilling. Let me share more details on this.

In the case of Warangal, the miscreant takes the photograph and sends it to all other politicians including Bandi Sanjay, and BJP politicians. He did not send them to congress politicians, BSP, or TRS, but he only sent them to BJP politicians. What really impressed me was the reverse investigation by Warangal police by analysing the phones, call logs and WhatsApp messages. Going back to the talking point of the press briefing and all the headlines that have been appearing in newspapers on the state president of the BJP. It looks like a very well-hashed-out plan to discredit the entire education system and over the petty political feuds. This is what is more treacherous, irresponsible, and absolutely dishonest towards the considerations of students of Telangana.

Today, I am very shocked at the audacity and the dishonesty of the BJP president who is also a parliamentarian responsible for his constituents. He has reportedly hatched a conspiracy to discredit the entire examination system. It is a pity that political games are being hatched to build a sentiment that leakages are going on. Since the TSPSC paper leak issue is still fresh in people’s minds, the BJP probably wanted to make the most of it for their political gains, and probably they hatched this conspiracy.

So now, why did they do it? This is something that needs to be probed very deeply. This needs to be taken to a logical conclusion. Is Bandi Sanjay the only one who has been doing this or are you going by what the Commissioner of Police said? He said Prasanth used to work for something called the Association of Brilliant Minds (ABM) which reports to Amit Shah. Have there also been any instructions from Amit Shah? Did BJP's main leaders ask Bandi Sanjay to hatch this conspiracy for political gains? This is something that needs to be probed and I am not sure the Warangal police will have the right motivation and intention to take the investigation that far. I feel that ABM activities and conspiracies are thoroughly probed.

Most of the time, the problem with the education system is that the state plays to the gallery because the market demands 99%. Prior to the examinations, the board calls all the principals and the invigilators of the examination of all the schools and then are pressured for high scores and pass percentages. Consciously, the state does not discourage the conditions which trigger unfair competition between the students.

Today, there is immense societal and familial pressure to be among the top scorers. Therefore, all the students who would've otherwise not passed, sail through. The second thing is that most of the time in self-centres and practicals they gang up with the school management. In private schools, there are many pre-examination parties given to the invigilators so that they give more and more marks to the students. This kind of quid pro quo is happening scot-free and it mostly goes unpunished and unnoticed.

Everyone is happy with this system where examinations are not seen as feedback to education attainment, but as a system of generating winners and losers. Parents are happy that their children are not failing, and school management is very happy that most of their students are scoring 90 and above because of which they will attract more and more admissions. Many dishonest lecturers will be happy because they get decent rewards from the school management for awarding marks liberally in practical exams. There is also scope for spot valuation which again is a huge place where a lot of paper correction takes place. Within these centres, again the unions grab this spot valuation centres and sometimes the people who do not deserve 100 marks get 100 marks and people who deserve 100 marks do not score well. There are no moderation and regulation on-the-spot valuation centres. So everything happens like a religious exercise, a kind of superficial and then a kind of ritual, which everyone has to go through every year. The final victim of this entire system is the student. Later, when they face the real world they will fall flat for these very reasons and many people aren’t successful, they remain as refugees in their own motherland for not having the skills that are required for the job market.

The politicians or be it the Education Minister would never be able to pay attention to these many intricate details and issues of these examinations and sectors right from the preparation of question papers and feel the valuation of the papers and the declaration of the results. I don't remember a time when the hon'ble chief minister of Telangana has ever reviewed the functioning of the education department and reviewed the question paper leakages. If you remember, when Janardhan Reddy was an education secretary, the Globarena scandal surfaced, due to which lots of students committed suicide because of the valuation mistakes in the intermediate question paper and answer sheets. Seriousness has not been shown in the last 9 years with regard to education and the system.

I really appreciate the way Warangal police have investigated because they have used all possible means. They picked up the right sources and looked into the conspiracy angle in record time. They have the necessary legal backup. However, in the case of investigation of TSPSC leakage, the source of the question paper leakage is not just leakage it is selling in the black market. The source of the leakage is the chairman himself, or the commission members themselves. Here the scene of the crime was not seen, the people are not rounded up in record time and then the technology has never been used, at least in the two weeks of the investigation. So, as a result, the main perpetrator of the chairman is still conducting meetings and going on duties. He is able to talk to ministers, ministers are able to take up this case and then they are trying to shield him before the public. No press briefings at all. So while the investigation of the Warangal police is appreciated then why is the government dragging its feet on TSPSC which is much more treacherous, sinister, and chilling when compared to the 10th examination?

The 10th examination is not leakage, it is a deliberate attempt to discredit the examination system in TSPSC. It is absolutely a leakage and it is a conspiracy much more sinister than the 10th-class examination. But, here the police are appearing to be protecting the real conspirators who could be CMO or any other politician. Unnaturally, there is a lot of fog in the entire investigation. No transparency is seen in the investigation. The chief perpetrator according to the documents there are available or the chairman under the members were allowed to function normally and then still people are considering them as ‘holy’. This is absolutely unprofessional that's why I draw a parallel between two investigations Warangal and Hyderabad. The Hyderabad investigation is trying to protect the accused and the Warangal investigation is trying to reach the roots of the scandal. That's where I appreciate the Warangal investigation so much as a former police officer.

What are the measures to be taken? The government must show its seriousness in the entire education department which seems to be the last priority as of now for them. It has to show as much seriousness as possible not just in the printing of question papers but even in the conduct of examinations entirely. The sitting squad shielding and then copying should be discouraged. Integrity must be one of the core values of the students and the education system should indoctrinate such values in the minds of the students right from a very young age. And wrong prayers must be absolutely punished without any mess. The act must be allowed to arrest the leakage. Intelligence time and again must keep a watch, not yielding to any political commitments. People who are with dubious records must not be allowed into the system at all. For example: in the last TSPSC board one of the members was accused of a question paper leakage scandal and then he went to jail. Later due to political reasons this person was appointed as a member of TSPSC. So imagine such kinds of people entering the system, and the damage they can do to the dreams of a student.

People who do things like leak papers and other things should not be allowed into the system. The state must make its intentions absolutely clear. They want their men to crack the examinations through the backdoor and enter the system so they remain loyal to them. The state should look for competent people who can deliver their duties with all honesty. Today it might be attractive to have your own people but those very people will make the whole system crash in the future.

The political system in Telangana has promised an overhaul of education and employment to its people. Today, Telangana ranks in the bottom four in terms of literacy rate. We are worse than some of the BIMARU states. If the politicians do not fix the education, examination, and employment situation in the state, the political parties will have to prepare for failing marks in their regular examinations - elections

Author - R S Praveen Kumar

Repalle Shiva Praveen Kumar is a former officer of the Indian Police Service who served as the secretary of Telangana Social Welfare Residential Educational Institutions Society and Telangana Tribal Welfare Residential Educational Institutions Society. He joined Bahujan Samaj Party in August 2021, driving and leading the party in Telangana.