Tell me what name should I give to this unusual phenomenon? In 2016, less than handful of applications with hundred percent in their best four subjects applied for admission in DU from the Kerala Board. In 2019, this number suddenly grew up to about 208 then 290 of them applied in 2020. And this year, almost 4800 applied with 100 percent marks in their best four.
Sorry, it is not merely a case of marks inflation by the boards, in general. The problem of marks inflation must be dealt with separately, but the issue raised by me is entirely different. I know, the term ‘Marks Jihad’ is harsh as it has been in use in the past to fan up emotions but it aptly describes this phenomenon with probably the communists behind the conspiracy this time.
Add this up to the fact that there are ‘hardly few’ who have applied for DU seats from Kerala Board who have less than hundred percent in their best four. Does anyone have a reason to offer? Why students with 98-99% as their best-four are not keeping DU as their choice?
Add this again to the fact that there is no apparent explanation of this unusually explosive surge in the attention of the students of Kerala for DU colleges. I have myself come to study in DU from Bihar and I know, DU colleges were preferred by students of Bihar and Eastern UP in early eighties till early nineties. After that, DU saw students coming in large number from Rajasthan, Haryana and Western UP, but all these had some explanations based on the socio-politico situation that prevailed in these states. The fact that the education infrastructure is far superior in DU as compared to these states; better education environment that students get here; are all plausible explanations. To top these all, the students from Hindi belt made a judicial choice of coming to a place where Hindi was commonly understood. The classroom conversation in all DU colleges are bilingual with Hindi and English being used commonly. I am yet to get a reason for such a peculiar behavior of students only from Kerala Board, strangely among them, only those who have secured perfect hundred percent in their best four. As per a first-hand account, many of these are neither comfortable in Hindi nor in English, while these being the only two languages presently in use in the DU classrooms.
But just tell me, what reasons can one offer for the near-absence of applicants from Kerala who have less than hundred percent in their best four? Only a well hatched conspiracy can explain such unusual figures and behaviors. I may not like a particular ideology but I can’t be justified for forcing anyone not to believe in that ideology. However, I feel completely justified in objecting to any attempt to manipulate the admission process with the aim to spread a particular ideology. It is an unfair practice, that must be exposed and protested. It is not as benign as they are being made out to be in the media by claiming that Boards are inflating marks. While many inflated marks can be attributed to the online examinations and generous evaluations, these figures can hardly be covered with these arguments.
For those intellectuals who often get miscarried by figures from authentic sources that do not apparently support my claim. Some of them being that the CBSE has given more than 99 percent only to 550 students and Kerala Board has given only to around 700 students, let me clarify that these are not the percentages in their best four subjects in class 12 – what DU requires for cut off. On the cut off criteria based on best four, according to the DU themselves, a total of 9200 applications were received with 100% in their best four subjects. Out of these, 3000 can be estimated from CBSE. 4800 were from Kerala Board (as admitted by the DU), and 1400 can be estimated from all the rest of the boards combined. What is often missed here is that while, CBSE and other boards have exceedingly large applicants from students having less than 100% marks in their best four, the number is negligibly small for Kerala Board.
When the DU registrar gave the numbers that out of 46054 students who got admission in the first list, 31172 belonged to CBSE and 2365 belonged to Kerala Board, 1540 from Haryana Board, 1429 from ISCE and 1301 from Rajasthan and other Boards. The numbers that he missed to provide were that out of these, about 31000 thousand CBSE aspirants got admitted with less than 100% and except 100-200, students from all other boards combined, got admitted with less than 100%. Inexplicably, almost negligible students from the Kerala Board claimed admission with less than 100% in the best four. These figures are unchallenged and are open proofs for the fact that students from Kerala Board has swept almost all the first cut off seats of some very prestigious colleges.
And to top these all absurdities, when all these students having 100% in their best four could have claimed admission in the best college (since no college had the capacity or reason to deny them), quiet inexplicably they have also chosen other colleges that are ranked much lower in public perception as well as in ranks given by authentic ranking agencies.
It can not be accepted that to send hundreds of volunteers, such a plot can not be hatched. I only wish that I am proved wrong but chances are very poor.
There is of course much that is left unsaid as whatever explanation that the story can hint at needs a serious study and research of the data on which I have hardly any access. A story needs to be unfolded that has kept itself under wrap. Attempts to intimidate and threaten me by the same corner only confirms that a foul smell is indeed about to come out of the carpet. The abnormal and unusual figures indicate towards a clear conspiracy. As an aware and alive citizen, it was my duty to raise an alarm on any suspicious development around my workplace. I am obliged to do that as per the regular announcements made by different government agencies. I have done that and thankfully people have noticed that. I only hope that those, who I wanted to alert, are actually alerted.
