According to information obtained through a Right to Information (RTI) request, 18 first-year pharmacy students at Uttar Pradesh’s Veer Bahadur Singh Purvanchal (VBSP) University in Jaunpur received passing grades or scored over 50% by writing slogans like “Jai Shri Ram” and the names of cricketers such as Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Hardik Pandya on their answer sheets. This led to the suspension of two professors accused of demanding bribes from students in exchange for marks.
The RTI request was filed by Divyanshu Singh, a former student leader at VBSP University, in August of the previous year. Singh requested a re-evaluation of the students’ answer sheets by providing their roll numbers.
Identified as Vinay Verma and Ashish Gupta, the professors were formally accused by Singh, who submitted a complaint with an affidavit and evidence to Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel.
In response to the complaint, the Governor ordered an investigation in December of the same year. Following the investigation, the university established a panel to look into the alleged discrepancies. An external evaluation subsequently revealed inconsistencies in the grading, particularly where students were initially awarded either 0 or 4 marks.
Vice-Chancellor Vandana Singh confirmed that a recommendation for the dismissal of the professors involved in the erroneous evaluation process has been proposed.
These irregularities came to light during the assessment of specific answer sheets, with significant changes in the students’ grades observed upon re-evaluation. The university intends to forward its findings to Governor Patel for further action.
As a result of these findings, disciplinary measures against the two professors are imminent. Of the two, Verma has faced previous allegations, including an incident involving the removal of a mobile phone with cash during an examination, which resulted in his removal from administrative duties.
