Bihar school board sacks 4 for forgery

27 Feb, 2007
PATNA: Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB) is not just about holding matriculation examinations in the state. The stakes are higher. It can make or mar careers. And when it comes to a crunch, it can also extend one's service length. A railway employee on the verge of retirement hit a novel plan. He sourced a group of graft-greedy staffers in BSEB for a fake birth certificate. For, he wanted to delay his retirement by four years. A head clerk with three associates - two assistants and one orderly - decided to oblige him. Money changed hands and a fake certificate was prepared. At the final stage of verification, however, somebody decided to do a random check. And the game was spoilt. This case was unearthed specially because the railway employee wrote his matric examination twice. He had failed in the first attempt. "We had his correct date of birth in two different documents. So we were able to conclusively say that the newly-prepared certificate was wrong," a Board official said. The four BSEB staffers have been dismissed. But sources said this case may just be the tip of an iceberg. "We do not know how many such fake certificates have been circulated," the official admitted. The sources said about ten years ago, one could bribe BSEB and get a matriculation certificate without even appearing for the exam. Of course, smaller needs such as fudging facts in certificates to increase marks was always an option. The official said an attempt is now being made to modernise and clean up BSEB. So that no eyebrows are raised when a student from Bihar shows his/her matriculation certificate to someone outside the state.