Jailed teacher asked to evaluate Maths answerbook

In a comedy of errors, the Bihar Government has asked a teacher languishing in jail to evaluate the answerbooks of intermediate examinations conducted in the State this year.

Ironically, the teacher, Sanjiv Kumar Suman, is behind the bars for his complicity in the 2016 intermediate toppers' scam, which brought disrepute to the State in general and the Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB) in particular.

Apparently, the BSEB has not learnt any lesson from its past blunders. It recently issued a letter appointing Sanjiv as an examiner to evaluate Mathematics answer books.

The letter has been issued to other teachers too. But what is more baffling is that Sanjiv, a teacher at Government Boys' High School, has been cooling his heels ever since he was nabbed in 2016 for helping the kingpin of toppers' scam Bachcha Rai. The Government Boys' High School in Patna's Rajendra Nagar was the evaluation centre for the candidates admitted to the school run by Bachcha Rai. Suman had helped Rai manipulate results.

Old list of teachers

"Stern action should be taken against the official who goofed up and issued the letter to a jailed teacher," said Shatrughan Prasad Singh, president of the Bihar Secondary Teachers' Association.

BSEB Chairman Anand Kishore, however, said it was quite possible that the letter was issued on the basis of the old list of teachers. "The list of teachers should be updated every year," he quipped.

Meanwhile, the teachers' union has asked the board to pull up its socks. "Letters have been issued to retired and dead teachers too. It's high time the BSEB gives up its callous approach," said Singh.