Leave God out of the examination, says university

Tanu Kulkarni

BENGALURU, OCTOBER 04, 2018 00:00 IST



Sebastian Francis 

RGUHS bans writing of religious names or symbols on answer sheets

It is a truth universally acknowledged that students desperate to do well in an exam will turn not only to their notes for last-minute revision but also to God. Evaluators have often noticed religious words such as ‘Om’ and other mantras written neatly on the answer sheet. Now the Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences (RGUHS), the affiliating authority for all medical, dental and Ayush colleges in Karnataka, has decided to ban students from writing the names of Gods and assorted mantras on their answer sheets.

Varsity officials believe that this is not just a matter of simple faith. M.K. Ramesh, Registrar (Evaluation) of RGUHS, said the university has come across cases where certain words like ‘Om’ or names of gods were written in pre-assigned spots to help the evaluator identify the student whose answer script he or she is evaluating. “We see that students write ‘Om Namah Shivaya’ on the top of the third or fourth page. All this is to give a signal to the evaluator. Writing such things in the examinations will henceforth constitute malpractice,” Mr. Ramesh said.

The principal of a medical college in Bengaluru, however, said this was a drastic step taken and that it could interfere with a student’s faith. “The university should instead say that students can write a god’s name at one particular place in the answer paper,” he said.

New malpractice rules

Besides the ban on religious words, the university has added seven other rules on what could constitute a malpractice. Students are now prohibited from writing the register number, their name, the letters ‘P.T.O.’ at the end of the pages, other irrelevant messages, any word, number, or sentence that is extraneous to the answers, answers that are out of context to the question asked, and tampering with the booklets. “Do not write any sign/symbol, letter, word which are likely to be construed as revealing the identify of the answer script,” states a circular issued by the varsity to all colleges on Monday.

Mr. Ramesh said that answer sheets of students violating these rules will be sent to the malpractice committee, which will decide on whether the student has to pay a fine or be disqualified. RGUHS also has another committee, the Professional Misconduct Committee, which will oversee the functioning of evaluators.

Students have welcomed the move as they feel that their peers have come up with novel ways of cheating.