After completing one year in the office, Mr Naik said that being the chancellor of 25 state universities, he had received reports of copying in university examinations in various places.

What is more intriguing is that Mr Naik mentioned that he had received reports that in several cases, the local managements of postgraduate colleges were threatening those V-Cs who were opposed to large-scale copying.

The Governor said that not only had he tried bringing the issue to notice of state government but also wrote to various universities that they should ensure cheat-free examinations. He also asked them to ensure that results were announced in time so academic sessions could also start in time.

The condition of secondary education is more pathetic where senior IAS officer Dr SP Singh is virtually leading one-man crusade.

Dr SP Singh was observing the state of secondary education for two months and when he started taking action against the copying mafia, he was removed. Since then, Singh launched one-man crusade against organised copying.

SP Singh’s anti-copying campaign is called “Voluntary Action for Social Transformation (VAST)”. “It is a mass mobilisation campaign,” he has claimed.

“Copying scam is worth over Rs 5,000 crore in the state,” the IAS officer said. There is rampant cheating that goes on in UP and it can have a devastating effect on future generations and particularly on youth, he said.

The campaign is against academic dishonesty and misconduct, which is deep-rooted in education institutions in various poverty-ridden states of India like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, he said.

“Now the entire system, including staff and officials at the local level, is hand in glove with the mafia and busy exploiting students and their parents,” he claimed.

Mr SP Singh claimed that since the reputation of UP Board had gone down, the students tend to remain unemployed and many were therefore resorting to breaking ATMs to rob cash, as well as other crimes.

There is another racket which was exposed recently in Lucknow by STF in which question papers of professional examinations were also deliberately leaked before the actual examination.

Political expert Dr Ramesh Dixit, who had been senior faculty member Political Science department in Lucknow University, said that it was high time that young chief minister Akhilesh Yadav should attach main priority to education sector as there was great demand for better skilled persons in Indian industry. (IPA)