Inter compartmental exams from July 3; BSEB reduces scrutiny fee to Rs 70 per paper

BSEB chairman Anand Kishor

PATNA: Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB) has decided to conduct intermediate compartmental examinations from July 3 to 13.

The BSEB will open its online form submission process for compartmental examinations on June 8. The last date for submission of forms is June 14.

The compartmental examinations hold significance as a large number of  students failed in the main examinations. The intermediate examinations results declared on May 30 showed that only 35.25 per cent of 12.61 lakh students failed to cross the pass barriers.

BSEB chairman Anand Kishor said here on Tuesday that the students who had failed in the two subjects could appear in the compartmental examinations.

He said BSEB had extended its compartmental examination facility to two subjects from this year keeping in view the large number of students who failed in the main examinations.

Earlier, the BSEB had restricted the facility to one subject last year.

He said the results of the compartmental examinations would be declared by the end of July. 

He said BSEB would not mention the name compartmental examination in the result cards for the benefit of the stuadents.

He said the leftover students of the main examinations, who had problems in their admit cards, could also appear in the compartmental examinations in full five subjects.

“For them it will be supplementary examinations”, he said.

It is expected that about 10000 students may appear in the supplementary examinations.

In another major decision, the BSEB has reduced the application fee for scrutiny from Rs 120 per subject to Rs 70 per subject.

It may be mentioned here that for the last one week failed students of the intermediate examinations have been staging demonstration in the state capital and other parts of the state demanding re-evaluation of the answer books at free of cost.

The BSEB has already made it clear that only scrutiny of the answer books will be carried out and no re-evaluation will be done.

Kishor said those who have already submitted Rs 120 per paper fee would get the excess amount back soon.

He said scrutiny work would begin on June 9 and in the first phase BSEB would take up the cases of the failed students who have cracked the IIT-JEE, NEET and other competitive examinations for pursuing higher education.

“We will try to declare their results by June 17”, he said.

He, however, said the scrutiny results would be announced by June 30.

He said he along with education secretary would hold a videoconferencing with the district magistrates and district education officers to streamline the scrutiny process on Wednesday at 1pm.

Regarding the vexed issue of home centre for practical examination, he said the BSEB had set up a three-member committee to study the issue. The committee consisting of BSEB secretary, vigilance officer and academic director would give its recommendations within two weeks, he added.

About the allegations that about one lakh data of the students was hacked, BSEB chairman said the Board had been maintaining its secrecy in its data. “Our data is not online, so the question of hacking does not arise”, he said.

He said the BSEB had prepared 20 de-duplication softwares to counter attempt of hacking in future.

He said the BSEB had been working to digitize all the mark sheets, certificates of the students from 1986 to 2005. The board had already done it for the students of high school and intermediate from 2006 to 2016, he added. 

Bihar Board's Intermediate arts topper Ganesh falls from grace; arrested for fraud

 Bihar Board's intermediate arts topper Ganesh Kumar

 

BSEB chairman Anand Kishor 

PATNA: Bihar Board's intermediate arts stream topper Ganesh Kumar has fallen from the grace. The police arrested Ganesh on Friday night following an FIR lodged by Bihar School Examination Board that Ganesh had forged the age certificates while enrolling for 2017 intermediate examinations.

Ganesh shook the entire education system of the state, like another topper Ruby Rai, who did in 2016, when interviewed by private TV channels he failed to justify his knowledge in music, the subject he had opted in the intermediate examinations.

During the interview Ganesh even failed to differentiate between Sur and Tal, Antra and Mukhra.

BSEB) on Friday cancelled the results and started proceedings against him and the school from which he filled up the examination form.

The BSEB chairman Anand Kishor, who was in tremendous pressure, since the TV interview exposed the topper Ganesh Kumar knowledge in music, the subject in which he got 65 marks out of 70 in practical, said that the BSEB had nullified the result of Ganesh Kumar on the charges of forgery.

“Action will be taken against him for cheating the board and he will be arrested soon”, he said.

He said action would also be taken against the Samastipur based school for hiding the facts.

Ganesh had scored 83 marks out of 100 in music.

In a hurriedly summoned Press conference, Kishor says the actual age of  Ganesh is 42 years and he has two children.

"He has cheated the board by lowering his age to 24 in connivance with the school management”, he said.

“The actual date of birth of Ganesh is November 7, 1975 and he appeared in the matric examination from a Giridih school in 1990,” he said.

Kishor said Ganesh had appeared the intermediate examination in 1992 from Jhumri Telaiya school in 1992 but he could not get it through.

“Ganesh forged his age certificate and made a new one with date of birth June 2, 1993 and got himself registered in the Samastipur school in 2015 for intermediate examination of 2017”, he said.

The BSEB has given a notice to Ganesh Kumar seeking his reply within three days.

“An FIR has already been lodged against Ganesh for forgery and against the school”, he said.

“The BSEB swung into action when the matter came to our notice. The affiliation of the school can be cancelled it they found guilty after the probe”, he said.

“The second topper, now, will be topper of the inter arts stream”, Kishor said.

Neha Kumari of Madhubani with 81.2 per cenet marks replaced Ganesh for top spot in the arts stream.

Ganesh himself stated that he had opted music as a subject for garnering maximum numbers in the intermediate examination.

Ganesh went underground after the declaration of the result on May 30 but resurfaced at his school in Samstipur district on June 1 where the TV channels took his interview.

Photo: Aftab Alam Siddiqui

Last chance for Bihar traders for GST registration

PATNA: Commercial Taxes Department principal secretary and commissioner Sujata Chaturvedi says the traders, who are yet to  register their firms under Goods and Services Tax (GST), can register their firms from June 1 to 15.

"This will be the last chance for the traders. We have set up  GST control rooms and help centres at Kautilya Bhavan, Antaghat, to solve the problems regarding GST registration", she said while delivering a lecture on GST at Bihar Industries Association hall here on Tuesday.

GST Law Drafting Committee member Arun Kumar Mishra addressed the traders on transition provisions, invoicing, e-billing, e-return, migration payment and input taxes.

Photo: Aftab Alam Siddiqui

Bihar medicine traders join nation-wide strike

PATNA: About 44000 medicine shops across Bihar downed their shutters to join the nation-wide strike of drug traders in protest against the central government decision to allow online sale of medicines and mandatory appointment of a pharmacist in drug store on Tuesday.

A rough estimate showed that business worth Rs 30 crore had been hampered due to the strike.

In the state capital about 1700 medicines shops remained closed throughout the day.

Photo: Aftab Alam Siddiqui