AU sure, ?short cuts? won?t do

ALLAHABAD UNIVERSITY (AU) authorities have finally decided to crack down on publishers of guides and books claiming to contain questions that are sure to come in the varsity's final examinations.

In a latest initiative, the university authorities have despatched a four-page letter (05/Registrar/215/2006) to Allahabad's 'D Kumars and Company' which publishes the popular— D Kumars Sure Series— levelling serious charges against the company and instructing the company's top official Dinesh Kumar Agarwal to appear at the AU Registrar's Office at 11 am on July 4 with a written reply to the 19 specific charges levelled against his company by AU.

In the letter dated June 23, 2006 sent to Dinesh Kumar Agarwal by the AU Registrar Prof US Rai, the varsity has registered its objections over the company's recently published guide based on AU's new 2006 pattern of exams that it publicised by claiming that the set of questions given in the guide are sure to appear in the final exams of the varsity.

In the letter, the AU Registrar has demanded that the company explain its stand on 19 specific points. The varsity has demanded an explanation as to by whose authority did the publishing company come out with the guide based on AU's new 2006 pattern.

The company has been asked to explain the source from where it got the questions that were published and released in the market and has also been asked to clarify as to by whose permission and authority were the pictures of AU's Senate Hall, JK Institute building and the Vijaynagram Hall printed on the front page of the guide.

It has been pointed out that by publishing these pictures, the company has tried to mislead the students into believing that the guide was an official publication of the varsity and that the 'D Kumars and Company' has been given the right to bring out the guide book by the university itself.

AU has also objected to the word 'Sure' used in the name of the guide and asked the company officials to explain as to how have they ensured that the questions published by them are 'sure' to appear in the exams?

Dubbing the publication as of poor quality and helping in the lowering of academic standards, the varsity has accused the company of aiding in organised use of unfair means during the exams and encouraging the students for cheating.

The note informing students that by purchasing the publication, the students will no longer have to prepare exam notes too has been objected to by the AU officials. Alleging that the publishing company has been involved in this task for the past many years, the AU letter alleges that the company by its actions has tried to play with the career and future of the students and obstructed the basic right of the students to get quality education. Copies of the letter have also been sent to the VC, all deans, heads of the departments, all constituent colleges, Proctor, Controller of Exams besides the District Magistrate, SSP, SP (City), CO-IV and the Secretary of the University Grants Commission (UGC) as well as Secretary, Union Ministry of Human Resource Development.

Repeated attempts to contact D Kumars and Company's Dinesh Kumar Agarwal for comments proved futile.