Booti mafia makes a comeback

By Khalid Khattak

LAHORE: TWO different incidents of massive cheating during the recent supplementary examinations of intermediate and BA/BSC are evident of the fact that the powerful booti mafia has re-emerged in the province with the help of its strong connections.In the first incident, as many as 12 people were caught red handed for appearing in place of real candidates in the BA/BSc Supplementary Examination held under the Punjab University. According to details, on Oct 25, 12 fake candidates appeared in the examination of English B paper in Centre No 2, established at the Government Degree College, Pattoki. During the routine checking, the college principal and staff stopped the illegal activity and informed the PU Examinations Department. Besides, the Examinations Department was also informed about the incident through an unknown telephone call. On this, the department constituted a five-member inquiry committee to probe into the incident. PU Controller of Examinations Zahid Karim Khan believes that some booti mafia is involved in this incident, adding that there are chances of the involvement of some university officials too.The other incident of massive cheating was reported during the recent Intermediate Part-I Supplementary Examination of the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE), Lahore. One of the exam centres of the BISE at Shahdra was reportedly “hijacked” by the armed members of a student union who “facilitated” the candidates to solve their papers.However, during the next paper, when one of the BISE’s monitoring squads, along with heavy contingent of police, paid a surprise visit to the said exam centre, it found Ashfaq Jutt, a representative of the student union, trying to disrupt the examination once again. Interestingly, when police and the BISE squad tried to arrest him, after he was identified by the superintendent, he succeeded in fleeing from the scene. The board officials got a case registered against him with the Shahdra Police Station. The interference of student unions in examinations is not a new phenomenon. There had been incidents in the past when students organisations used to control the exam centres not only to mint money but also to help their own activists pass different exams. It may be mentioned here that during his previous tenure, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif had done his best to purge educational institutions from booti mafia. He had even introduced entry test in medical colleges for the elimination of the mafia. This year when students and their parents expressed concerns over entry test for admission to medical colleges, the chief minister reiterated his stance that entry test was introduced for the elimination of “booti mafia,” adding: “Now full attention will be paid to transparency of general examinations.” He vowed to completely eliminate booti mafia from the province to safeguard the rights of hardworking students.Seen in this context, the recent incidents of cheating, no doubt, pose a great challenge to the authorities concerned to ensure the protection of the rights of hardworking students from the booti mafia.

Source: The News International

Monday, November 03, 2008