About two decades old practice of taking an entry test to be eligible for admission in professional colleges has suddenly become controversial. The Punjab government wants the entry test abolished perhaps to accommodate the sons and daughters of the grandees in politics. Even the education is politicised. I recall my days in high school in Lalamusa back home when most of us pedalled our bicycles or travelled by tongas to attend classes. Until late, Lalamusa had been known a city of tongas. There was no concept of cheating in class or during the exams.
Skipping a class resulted in spending the whole period standing and few lashes on behinds by none other than the big man, the headmaster. Things changed. When cheating became common and booti mafia active, the only way out was the entry test to provide an even playing field both to students belonging to the influential class and ordinary folks. It did not suit the elite class hence some way around it, citing different flimsy excuses, had to be evolved. CM of Punjab may realise that children of lower and middle classes deserve his attention more than children of the rich who easily manage to go abroad for studies.
DR A P SANGDIL
Oslo, Norway
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