In a rare instance, the Jammu and Kashmir high court made a teacher write a brief exam in an open court to check his abilities but the examinee failed miserably, leading to a slew of directions to the state government for checking "tuck shops" in the education sector.
The direction came yesterday when justice Muzaffar Hussain Attar was hearing a petition challenging appointment of Mohammad Imran Khan as Rehbar-e-Taleem (education guide) teacher in a school in south Kashmir.
The petitioner had alleged that Khan's certificates -- issued by Board of Higher Secondary Education Delhi and Global Open University, Nagaland were not recognised. The marks certificate issued to the respondent by the Board of Higher Secondary Education Delhi showed 74 per cent, 73 per cent and 66 per cent in Urdu, English and Maths respectively.
The court asked a senior counsel to give a simple line for translation from English into Urdu and vice-versa but the teacher failed to do it.
The teacher was then asked to write an essay on 'cow' in Urdu but he failed. He sought permission to write the essay outside the court room, which was granted but he again failed.
Khan then claimed that he had better hold on Mathematics. The court asked another counsel to frame standard IV problem for the teacher to solve. And he failed again!
{{/usCountry}}Khan then claimed that he had better hold on Mathematics. The court asked another counsel to frame standard IV problem for the teacher to solve. And he failed again!
{{/usCountry}}"In this situation, what would be the fate of the state has to be only visualised. The school going children ....would pass out as block heads," the court observed.
The court directed the government to constitute a panel which would look into degrees issued by unrecognized study centers.