Last year, it was arts topper Ruby Rai’s poor knowledge of subjects which exposed how Bihar’s education system was in shambles. This year, it is Ganesh Kumar’s turn.
Kumar, who topped Class XII exams in humanities stream, failed to show any academic prowess during a TV interview on Thursday. Acting promptly, the Bihar State Education Board (BSEB) cancelled his results “with immediate effect”. It is now alleged that he forged his date of birth, too. On Friday evening, the Bihar police registered a case and arrested Kumar.
"Class XII topper Ganesh Kumar's result has been cancelled with immediate effect. A case is also being registered against him and the school authorities," BSEB Chairman Anand Kishore said.
Kumar appeared for the board exams at Ramnandan Singh Jagdip Narayan High School in Samastipur's Chhakhabib village and scored 82.6 percent marks, NDTV reported.
Upon investigation, it was also found that Kumar has two children and had appeared for Class X exam in 1990. He forged his date of birth in the certificate, and is 42 years old and was born in 1975.
Meritorious or Not?
Even after securing 65 out of 70 marks in the Music practical examinations, and 18 out of 30 in theory, he was unable to answer basic questions related to the subject.
When asked to play some instruments and sing a song, he seemed unable to play anything in tune.
An unprecedented 65 percent students failed the Bihar board exams in 2017.
Last year, apart from Ruby Rai, Class 12 Science stream topper Saurabh Shreshtha had failed to answer basic science questions on camera.
Video Editor: Purnendu Pritam
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)