Two professors at a state-run university in Uttar Pradesh have been suspended following the disclosure in response to an RTI query that four students reportedly passed exams with 56 per cent by including phrases like Jai Shri Ram and the names of Indian cricket team players in multiple answers, stated a PTI report on April 27.
Inquiry found two professors guilty
Dr Vandana Singh, Vice-Chancellor of Veer Bahadur Singh Purvanchal University in Uttar Pradesh, stated that the university's examination committee held a meeting on Wednesday, April 24 to address the issue and determined that two instructors, Dr Ashutosh Gupta, and Dr Vinay Verma, were responsible for incorrect evaluation.
The VC further added that the university had initiated disciplinary action against them and they were relieved of their duties. It will further be presented before the executive council, she added.
She stated that an investigation into the allegation of the professors extorting money from the four first-year students is being looked into.
Inquiry after former student submits RTI petition
The issue surfaced when Divyanshu Singh, a former student of the university, submitted a Right to Information (RTI) Act request upon learning that certain first and second-semester students of the DPharma programme had passed an examination despite providing incorrect responses, reported PTI.
Singh mentioned that he filed the RTI on August 3, 2023, and additionally requested a re-evaluation of the answer sheets of the particular students.
According to the RTI response, the students had written Jai Shri Ram and the 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.
The university subsequently set up an inquiry committee to probe into the situation and later, it was discovered that the four students had scored zero.
