Merit or Cheat

Do not be surprised if someone asks you this question someday. If you have enjoyed the priviledge of having studied at a premier institute like IIT, IIM or AIIMS and fail to be at the top (it is possible after all we all are humans) on some occassion, I am sure there will be few sceptics in the crowd, who will promptly jump to the conclusion that people like you entered into these institutes by cheat.

First, IIT JEE paper got leaked in Patna (do not be surprised, some people do take pride in calling it the city of crime). Then, two years ago, the institutes which proclaim to produce world-class managers failed to manage the security of their one of the most vital asset, CAT question paper. And, now AIIMS have proudly joined the list. It provokes everyone to question the credibility of these entrance examinations which call for participation from hundreds of thousands of aspirants who burn the midnight oil to fulfil their dream of entering these coveted institutes. None knows how many lives and careers have been thrown to jeopardy by these scandals and paper leaks. These crimes are tantamount to murder in the degree of their heinousness.

In my childhood days, when I was told about sale of question papers, impersonation etc. I used to dismiss such talks as the excuses perpetrated by the bunch of losers who did not have enough merit. But, these revelations have opened my eyes and now, I can follow that many deserving to-be IITians were thrown to NITs and regional colleges, NITians to private colleges, and some deserving engineers to the streets where nothing but the darkness of unemployment exists.And, all this just to buy high quality subsidised higher education for some undeserving sons and daughters of rich men, who will never put their education to good use.

We need to take immediate action to prevent such malpractices because the ascent of a society depends on the respect it attributes to the quality of its individuals and the way it attempts to foster them to improve them further.