Man sets dubious record of ‘passing’ Grade 10 exams twice

Board was in darkness until the man himself confessed to crime

AWest Bengal man has set the dubious record of passing Grade 10 board exams twice without the knowledge of the state education board. Suman Mondal, now in police custody, has been charged with forgery.

The first time he appeared for the exams was in 2012, and unhappy with his performance, he retook the examination in 2016 after changing his school and name to Ayan Mondal. He secured pass marks the second time around, too. The passing grade came as a surprise to him; however, as he did not submit his biology answer sheet.

However, Mondal was still unhappy with his marks and this time filed an inquiry under Right To Information (RTI) and went on to meet the administrator of the West Bengal Board Of Secondary Education (WBBSE) Kalyanmoy Ganguly

Suspecting foul play, Ganguly filed a police complaint and Mondal was arrested on Thursday. “Had he not sought to scrutinise his answer script, he would probably have not been caught,” admitted a police officer.

Every year, during the board examinations, the country is witness to various kinds of fraud by students — and sometimes parents — trying to ensure better results. It is often the case that someone else sits in the examination for the student in lieu of money. However, the Mondal incident has surprised the teaching fraternity, especially since WBBSE seemed to have no clue about what was going on.

“This exposes how negligent the system is. One student after passing the board exams appears for the examination the second time and the board did not even have any clue of the same,” said Ranjit Sen, a teacher.