Vishun Roy College

Vishun Roy College (abbreviated VR College, also known as Bishun Rai College) is an educational institute in Bihar state of India. It is located in the Kiratpur Raja Ram village of Vaishali district.[1] Soon after its establishment in 1997, the college became well known for producing the state-level toppers in the Intermediate exams. In 2014, allegations of irregularities surfaced against the college, with the chairman of Bihar School Examination Board being suspected of aiding the college in its "topper scam".[2] In 2016, the students of VR College topped both science and arts streams, but were exposed as cheaters after a video of them failing to answer basic questions became popular. Subsequently, the college was de-recognized and the BSEB chairman was forced to resign.

Vishun Roy College
Other name
V R College
Location
Kiratpur Raja Ram
,
Bihar
,
India

Establishment

The college was established in 1997-98. Its director and principal is Amit Kumar alias Bachcha Rai, a local political leader. The college is named after his grandfather. The family also runs other colleges, including four Intermediate colleges and a B.Ed. college. Rai is considered close to the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Lalu Prasad Yadav. During the 2015 Assembly elections, he spent one month canvassing for Yadav's son Tej Pratap. His father Rajdeo Rai had also unsuccessfully fought a Legislative Council election as an RJD candidate.[3]

Examination success

Soon after its establishment, VR college became famous for its high success rate in Class XII exams. In 2014, 7 out of the Bihar's 10 toppers were from this college.[3] In 2015, Bachcha Rai's daughter Shalini was the state topper in the science stream. Because of its "stellar record" the college attracted students from far-off districts.[3]

Since 2014, the college faced allegations of irregularities. Lalkeshwar Prasad Singh, the chairman of the Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB) was suspected of favouring the college.[4] Once a principal of the Patna College, Singh was promoted to BSEB Chairman thanks to the state's chief minister Nitish Kumar. During 2010-2015, his wife Usha Singh was an MLA from Hilsa, which is located in Nitish Kumar's home district, Nalanda; she was a member of Nitish Kumar's political party, the Janata Dal (United).[5]

Singh personally decided that G A Inter College in Hajipur would be the examination centre for the students of the VR College. He also decided that the Balak High School in Patna would be the evaluation centre for the answer sheets of the college's students. He personally visited these two places a number of times. When allegations of irregularities surfaced, he formed a judicial committee for investigation, but did not inform the state's education department.[4]

2016 de-recognition

On 28 May 2016, the BSEB publicly declared the intermediate results, however it released its official merit list for 10 May 2016 itself but due to some issues, it made the results public to a later date.[6][7] VR College students emerged as toppers in both arts and science streams in Class XII exams. Ruby Rai topped arts stream with 89% marks, while Saurabh Shresth topped science stream with 97% marks.[8] Rahul Kumar, another science student of VR College, obtained the third highest marks in the state.[9] Actually, Bachcha Rai's daughter Shalinee Roy had topped the science stream: she had obtained 4 marks more than Saurabh Shresth. However, the corrupt Board officials did not release her name to avoid a controversy: they intended to release her name later, in a clandestine manner.[7] Earlier in 2014, Shalinee had topped the Class X exams, scoring 97.2% marks. Around 1,323,000 students had appeared for the exams: no other student had scored more than 90% marks.[7]

When interviewed by the Aaj Tak TV channel, Ruby Rai and Saurabh Shresth were unable to answer basic questions. The arts topper Ruby Rai named "prodikal science" (actually political science) as one of the subjects she had studied. When asked what this subject dealt with, she answered that it was about cooking. She stated that the exam was of 600 marks, while it was actually of only 500 marks. The science topper Saurabh Shresth could not describe the link between water and H2O (the chemical formula for water). He also wrongly named aluminium as the most reactive element.[8]

After the video of their interviews became popular, the BSEB asked them and other toppers to appear before a team of experts for a test.[10] Saurabh Shresth and Rahul Kumar of VR College failed in this test. Ruby Rai did not appear for the test, citing poor health. The Board subsequently de-recognized VR College, and ordered an inquiry into the irregularities.[11] Bachcha Rai's daughter Shalinee, who actually topped the science stream, but whose name was withheld from the official merit list, was not invited for the re-test.[7]

On 8 June 2016, the BSEB chairman Lalkeshwar Prasad Singh resigned after being served a show-cause notice by the Bihar state's education department.[4] On 25 June, Ruby Rai appeared before BSEB team for re-evaluation, and failed to answer a single question correctly. She was subsequently arrested.[12]

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References
  1. "Results of 2 Inter Science toppers nullified". Hindustan Times. 5 June 2016.
  2. "Topper cradle home truths At centre of raging controversy, a college like no other".
  3. "Topper cradle home truths - At centre of raging controversy, a college like no other". The Telegraph. 3 June 2016.
  4. Sheezan Nezami (9 June 2016). "Topper scam: Bihar board chairman quits, goes underground". The Times of India.
  5. Abhay Kumar (11 June 2016). "Absconding ex-BSEB chief not new to controversy". Deccan Herald.
  6. "Bihar board intermediate arts (IA) results declared, check it here".
  7. Sheezan Nezami (9 June 2016). "Topper scam: Shalinee Roy is 'Worthy' dad's 'worthy' daughter". The Times of India.
  8. Amarnath Tewary (2 June 2016). "Are you for real, Bihar asks its Class 12 toppers". The Hindu.
  9. Vithika Salomi (10 May 2016). "3 boys notch up 85.2% to top ISc exam". The Times of India.
  10. "Bihar: Rank holders appear before experts team after viral video". Indian Express. 3 June 2016.
  11. Arun Kumar and Anish (5 June 2016). "Two Bihar board 'toppers' flunk retest, lose results". Hindustan Times.
  12. "Ruby Rai, Bihar's Fake Class 12 Topper, Arrested". NDTV. 25 June 2016.

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