7 Sangrur pharmacy colleges indulged in mass copying, says probe report

Students of seven pharmacy colleges in Sangrur district who appeared in examination in September and October indulged in mass copying, a probe report by the state technical education department has found.

The department will issue within a week show-cause notices to these colleges as why their affiliation should not be cancelled. Besides, a three-member committee was formed on Monday to look into their response.

The institutions are Vinayaka College of Pharmacy, Lehragaga; Arya Bhatta Institute of Pharmacy, Sangrur; Modern College of Pharmacy, Vidya Sagar Paramedica Institute, Leharagaga; Maharaja Aggarsain Institute of Pharmacy, Lehargaga; Lord Krishna College of Pharmacy, Lehragaga; and Krishna College of Pharmacy Lehragaga.

Technical education minister Charanjit Singh Channi said anybody found indulged in a cheating scam will not be spared and strict action will be taken against the institutes concerned.

“Orders have also been issued to charge-sheet Government Polytechnic College Bareta, principal Navneet Walia, who was flying squad in-charge, and section officer Anil Kumar,” a press statement stated.

The matter came to light after a video of copying in the examination centres went viral on social media.

Principal secretary (technical education) Anurag Verma said a detailed report was sought from secretary (technical education and industrial training board) and the principal of Government Polytechnic College (Girls), Patiala, where papers of the seven colleges were sent for evaluation.

“During investigation, it was found that the answer sheets of nearly all the students who appeared in the offline examination matched verbatim. Also, sheets of some students who appeared in the online examination also matched to some extent,” Verma added.

The technical education board officials have been directed to issue show-cause notices to the seven colleges in a week to cancel their affiliation. The reply will be examined by the director (technical education and industrial training department), the secretary (technical education board) and the Punjab state technical education board (convener) registrar, he said.

“The examination held at these colleges will also be cancelled. Directions have been issued to hold reexamination of the students. During the reexamination, the invigilating staff will be deputed from government ITIs and examination centres will also be set up at government polytechnic colleges/ITIs. CCTV cameras will be installed in examination centres,” Verma said.