Bihar Class 12 topper fails to explain basics of music, one of his subjects

He can beat a drum well but is unfamiliar with other musical instruments, even tabla or flute.

Yet, he set a record by becoming the topper of IA examination conducted by the Bihar State Examination Board (BSEB) with music, home science and psychology as optional papers.

A resident of Saraiya village falling under Giridih in Jharkhand, Ganesh Kumar was a student of Ram Nandan Singh Jagdeep Narayan Higher Secondary School in Samastipur, 250 km away from his home in Giridih district of Jharkhand.

He caught the headlines for his enviable success for topping the list but his real merit, when tested by journalist on Thursday, presented a wholly different picture, that has yet again raised a question on the quality of examiners.

Last year, Ruby Rai had topped the Class 12 examination conducted by the BSEB in humanities stream, but got into trouble after a sting by a TV news channel showed her giving ludicrous answers to elementary questions related to her subjects. She said “prodigal science” is about cooking.

The school where Ganesh studied is run by one Abhitendra Kumar, son of a BJP activist Jawahar Prasad Singh and affiliated in 2013 by BSEB.

Why did Ganesh, a native of Jharkhand, prefer to take the examination from such a remote place, is a question yet unanswered.

Ganesh, who turns 24 on Friday, secured only 18 marks in music theory but 65 in practical paper, while the institution he studied does not have any musical instrument.

He was not a regular students of the school and his examination form did not mention his present address.

There is no date of admission mentioned in the admission form despite him being a regular student in a school, which lacks proper infrastructure and runs only in six rooms under an asbestos roof.

He went underground soon after the results were declared on Tuesday, triggering suspicions over his top spot in the examination.

Ganesh has mentioned his date of birth in the admission form as June 2, 1993 and passed class 10 examination from Sanjay Gandhi School, Shivajinagar in Samastipur, in which he managed 330 marks out of 500.

When mediapersons contacted Jawahar Prasad, founder secretary of the school said, “I am surprised that he has topped the Arts stream of the Bihar Board.”