Do you have “Tushar” written on your certificate? If yes, then you need not fulfil any eligibility criteria. You will get admission to GC College Senior Secondary with 47% marks while there are others on the waiting list with 60%. Such is the condition of the admission procedure in GC College Silchar, one of the most prestigious institutions in Southern Assam or, in fact, Northeast India.
Barak Bulletin has accessed documents that are signed by a respected professor assigned with the duty of verifying documents. A student (again, name withheld as the student might be a minor) applied through the Darpan portal with 47% marks in Class X. He printed his application form, and someone has handwritten “Sports and Extracurricular Activities”. Along with that, the candidate has submitted a participation certificate in “Khelo India” quiz.
The same certificate has been verified by the professor and deemed qualified enough for Sports Quota selection. If the student was into Sports, he would have applied for selection under Sports Quota with his necessary documents in the portal itself. To apply for selection under Sports Quota, one has to have a “State/National Level extra-curricular certificate in Sports/Cultural/NCC.” Note the above certificate carefully, the serial number is missing. Also read, that it is for participation in ‘Khelo India Quiz’. This was an open quiz for all and everyone who participated got the above certificate. This was not a part of the games held in Delhi, in fact, the games held in Delhi did not include quiz.
The Khelo India website states, “Khelo India School Games, which are a part of the Khelo India programme, are being held from 31st January to 8th February 2018 in New Delhi. Under-17 athletes have been invited to participate across 16 disciplines, which are as follows: Archery, Athletics, Badminton, Basketball, Boxing, Football, Gymnastics, Hockey, Judo, Kabaddi, Kho-Kho, Shooting, Swimming, Volleyball, Weightlifting, and Wrestling.” It is in these games in 2018, that athletes represented their respective States, which is considered as a criteria to be eligible for application under sports quota. The list of the athletes participating from Assam is there on the website and that list does not include either of the two candidates verified by GC College administration.
The second candidate got 59.17% in Class X and belongs to the SC community. He too applied for selection normally like any other candidate through Darpan. Then came the magical spell, “Tushar” again handwritten on the Khelo India certificate, and like the earlier candidate, this candidate too procured a dubious sports and extra-curricular activities quota verified by the same set of professors.
A source in GC College informed Barak Bulletin that more than 12 students got admission through the same “Tushar” quota. “The principal is involved in this entire scam. A few former students involving members of ABVP confronted the principal and asked him to show the documents of the students as they suspected foul proceedings. The principal did not cooperate,” said the source.
Barak Bulletin reached out to the principal of GC College for a comment at 2:00 pm. He sought time and the correspondent requested him for a response by 6:00 pm. “We have convened a meeting on this issue and I will soon share a comment with you on this matter,” said the principal, but he did not respond to calls after that.
Similarly, another professor, Jaydeep Paul, who allegedly verified Khelo India Quiz Participation certificates and deemed candidates eligible based on those certificates, was also approached. “We are in a meeting and if you share the certificate or the details of the students, we can check and respond,” he said. The certificate as published above was shared with Professor Paul with the request to either confirm or deny if the same has been verified by him. Professor Paul neither confirmed nor denied.
Some applicants spoke with Barak Bulletin and alleged that some of the former students, allegedly from the group “Tushar”, are charging money to secure admissions to candidates who don’t meet the cut-off. “These dubious admissions secured with money and influence take the opportunity away from the deserving candidates. The daughter of a rickshaw puller is not able to get the deserving seat while someone else is furnishing a Khelo India certificate and blocking this seat. We urge the Deputy Commissioner of Cachar, Rohan Kumar Jha, and DGP of Assam, GP Singh Sir, to immediately intervene and launch a probe.”
The second candidate who secured 59.17% would have got the admission without the Sports Quota. He is from the SC category and the cut-off currently is 58%, below what he scored. So, why did he take the Sports Quota route? “Initially, the cut-off was 66.67 for SC candidates in Arts Stream. That is when the candidate applied and took the Tushar route,” said a source in the admission department.
While this is a scam for sure, the exchange is not necessarily cash, explains a student. “Jaydeep Paul Sir or Principal Sir or Professor Bijan Bihari Biswas (Convenor) don’t take money for signing these documents. They do this to have the students in power on their side. These professors later use these students for their benefit, like urging a student he is favouring today to lodge an FIR against a professor opposing tomorrow. This toxic racket is ruining the sanctity of student politics. When teachers and students go hand in glove like this, welfare takes the back seat,” said the student who did not want to be named.
The common thread stitching all these is a name, “Tushar”. Who is Tushar? Is “Tushar” a code word, a nickname for a politician, a former student? Who is Tushar was asked to the principal and Professor Bibhas Deb, but they did not respond to the query. How the Deputy Commissioner of Cachar, Superintendent of Police, and the Department of Education, Government of Assam react to this massive admission scam is something that remains to be seen.
The accountability of the above story rests with Anirban Roy Choudhury. He can be reached at barakbulletin@gmail.com.
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