One step back

Sir — It is ridiculous that the state government should think about getting rid of the Joint Entrance Examination in the wake of the medical entrance test scandal, which revealed that qualified doctors took money from the examinees and sat the exam in their place (“Govt mulls scrapping JEE”, Aug 14). This step would be unfair to a number of good students who may not fare well in their plus-two examinations. Professional degrees like the ones awarded by the medical and engineering courses require a certain level of proficiency in the sciences, and the best way of dealing with the lakhs of examinees who compete with each other for a limited number of seats in medical and engineering colleges is to hold an admission test and choose the best students through a process of elimination. Instead of doing away with the JEE altogether, the government should consider reviewing the current method in which the examination is conducted and devise a foolproof mechanism to eliminate the possibility of scams in future. The degrees of those who have obtained admission through underhand means must stand cancelled and the accused penalized heavily.

Yours faithfully,
Rabin Sarkar, Ichhapore

Sir — The state government has not offered a very convincing argument for its proposal of scrapping the West Bengal JEE. Following the example of the Tamil Nadu government, which did away with its common entrance test in favour of selection on the basis of the marks obtained in school-leaving examinations, will neither solve the problem of malpractices in the admissions procedure, nor will it help students from rural areas who cannot avail themselves of private tuitions. The problem of forgery can be tackled with the help of biometric security measures like electronic fingerprinting and by ensuring stricter vigilance at the test centres. A change in the format might help students from district schools who are unused to multiple-choice questions. Including short essay-type questions would make the test a little more familiar to such students.

Selection on the basis of higher-secondary examination marks would not be a fair way of choosing students as there are far too many boards of education in India with varying curricula and methods of assessment. Until education in the country is standardized, the JEE seems the only sensible way of evaluating the eligibility of students for engineering and medical courses in the state.

Yours faithfully,
Ranesh Chandra Dey, Calcutta

Sir — The abolition of the West Bengal JEE will be another step backward in the state’s education policy, one akin to the banishing of English from the primary level in government schools. Students from district schools who win scholarships after performing well in Madhyamik often fail to maintain the same standard in the higher secondary examination. Meritorious students are increasingly opting for higher education outside the state. The government is only trying to increase its stranglehold on the higher education system in the state. As an alumnus of Bengal Engineering and Science University, I am appalled at the manner in which its bid for IIT status is being thwarted by the present government.

Yours faithfully,
Saktinath Mukherjee, California, US

Freedom mocks

Bitter taste of freedom

Sir — Indians celebrated the 60th birthday of the nation with great fanfare. In these sixty years, India has progressed in various fields, be it science and technology, agriculture, or sports. India is now one of the most important agrarian economies in the world. The government has made some headway in improving the living conditions of those below the poverty line. The position of women in India is certainly and visibly better today than it was 60 years ago. The rate of literacy too has gone up across the country.

However, the entire picture is not rosy. There has been a stark decline in moral values, and corruption has penetrated every level of society. Today’s politicians and statesmen show a startling lack of concern for the country and have none of the moral integrity or patriotic spirit of our illustrious freedom fighters. In the diamond jubilee year of our independence, we must pledge to come together and build a morally strong and progressive India.

Yours faithfully,
Rameswar Biswas, Howrah

Sir — India gained independence following decades of struggle and after losing many of its precious sons. For those who fought for the freedom of the country, independence meant freedom from oppression and the right to choose their own leaders. Sixty years down the line, it is difficult to say what independence means to large sections of Indians, or if it means anything at all. For some it has come to mean the right to violate the dignity of our women, for others it is the freedom to jeopardize the security and well-being of fellow-citizens, and for our politicians, it certainly means the right to indulge in all possible forms of corruption under the pretext of steering the nation towards prosperity.

Yours faithfully,
Parakram Paul, Calcutta

Erratum

Kapil Dev has never been the director of the National Cricket Academy, as mentioned in the edit, “Smug landlord” (Aug 27). He was the chairman of the NCA and was removed from the post recently. The error is regretted. — The Editor