Patna: Bihar is witnessing yet another fake degree controversy with the ruling Janata Dal (United) alleging that a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA has a fake degree, according to his 2020 affidavit to the Election Commission. According to.
JDU in a press conference on Monday accused MLA Haribhushan Thakur Bachaul Bachelor’s degree from Women’s College. Bachaul has claimed that it is a typographical mistake.
JD(U) spokesperson Neeraj Kumar told reporters It is mentioned in the affidavit of Bachaul that he graduated from Ram Sewak Singh College in Sitamarhi district in 1993. “That college is actually a women’s college. So how could Bachaul pass out of that college?” Kumar demanded an inquiry by the Election Commission.
Speaking to ThePrint over phone on Tuesday, Kumar said, “These things can happen only in the BJP where even the degree of the PM is being questioned,” he said, Referring to the questions being raised by the opposition on the educational qualification of PM Narendra Modi.
Meanwhile, Bachaul claimed that there was a “typing mistake” in the affidavit he had submitted for the 2020 assembly elections.
“Actually, there are two colleges in Sitamarhi. One is Ram Sakal Singh College, which is for boys, and the other is Ram Sewak Singh College, which is a women’s college. I did my graduation from Ram Sakal College in 1993, but it was mistakenly typed as Ram Sewak Singh College. he told ThePrint over the phone.
“I am ready for any probe. The JD(U) has targeted me as I have been a vocal critic of Nitish Kumar even when the party was in alliance with the BJP.
Talking about the menace of fake degrees in Bihar, former Patna University professor NK Chowdhary told ThePrint on the phone As was evident from the large number of fake degrees, the education system in the state is crumbling.
“Universities and educational institutions have been handed over to people with dubious track records and, often, dubious degrees. That’s why Vigilance cases have been registered against the Vice-Chancellors and the Chairman of the University Service Commission has been sent to jail. [Choudhary referring to a two-decade-old matter here],
He said, ‘I raised the issue of rot in the universities of Bihar in 2007 and was suspended.’ Claimed,
VS Dubey, former chief secretary and Vice-Chancellor of Nalanda Open University, said that he had taken steps to curb fake degrees during his tenure as Vice-Chancellor. “I got the photographs of the candidates on the degree and added unique features to it. I also used handmade paper, which is only available on order. I think all other universities should follow it. He said that such scams affect the reputation of the institutions.
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not the first time
This is not the first time that an educational institution in the state has been embroiled in a controversy over alleged fake degrees. Jitendra Singh Tomar, former Law Minister in Delhi’s AAP government, has been accused of obtaining a fake law degree from Bihar’s Tilka Manjhi Bhagalpur University.
Tomar is an MLA from Trinagar in the north. DelhiHe was arrested on 9 June 2015 following a Delhi Police investigation on a complaint by the Bar Council of Delhi that he had obtained a fake law degree. In response to an RTI, the university said that the marksheet was fabricated and the degree was not in the official records. Tomar was arrested but released on bail.
Former Chief Minister Jagannath Mishra, who was fondly called “Doctor” Sir” He was also accused of having a fake doctorate from Bihar University, Muzaffarpur, by his followers. In the early 1980s, Munshi Lal Rai, the then MLA from the Socialist Party, alleged that Mishra’s PhD thesis was ghost-written. He also read portions of Mishra’s thesis, which were similar to portions of his guide Dr. Hargovind Singh’s thesis. This created a huge uproar in the Bihar Legislative Assembly but no further action was taken. The media quoted Mishra as saying that he was ready to face any probe.
In 2015, a petition in the Patna High Court resulted in the state government conducting an internal inquiry into the teachers appointed in its schools. According to media reports, the government told the court that 3,000 teachers’ degrees were found to be fake and they have resigned.
The High Court is currently hearing another case related to fake degrees of teachers and has expressed displeasure over the slow progress. The state cabinet has now decided to appoint school teachers through the Bihar Public Service Commission, where their degree will be checked before giving appointment letters to the candidates.
In Bihar, a topper scam was unearthed in 2016. When the media interviewed the Class 12 toppers of Humanities and Science streams of that year, they failed to answer questions related to their subjects, raising doubts about the Bihar State Board Exams. At that time, LP Singh, husband of former JDU MLA Usha Sinha, was the chairman of the Bihar School Examination Committee.
In the investigation, it was found that the students were given good marks by giving them money. Later news came that Sinha’s own degree could be fake. Eventually the couple went to jail and Sinha was expelled from the party. He was later released on bail.
(Edited by Smriti Sinha)
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