In a shocking case of academic negligence, two officials, including the principal and a professor of a government college in Madhya Pradesh’s Narmadapuram district, have been suspended, and three others terminated, after a viral video allegedly showed a peon evaluating student answer sheets, an official confirmed.
The incident occurred at Shaheed Bhagat Singh College in Pipariya in January 2025, but came to light only after the video surfaced on social media, sparking outrage and swift administrative action.
Those terminated include Khushboo Pagare, a guest faculty member originally assigned to evaluate the answer sheets; Pannalal Patharia, a lab technician (peon) who was seen checking the papers; and Rakesh Kumar Mehar, a book lifter who assisted in the process.
The college’s Principal Rakesh Kumar Verma and Professor Ram Gulam Patel, who was the nodal officer for answer sheet evaluation, were suspended on April 4, and the three terminations followed on April 8.
Additional Chief Secretary (ACS) of the Higher Education Department, Anupam Rajan, told media:
“Evaluation of answer sheets was going on at Shaheed Bhagat Singh College in Pipariya, Narmadapuram district and a video came to light of a class fourth employee, a lab technician, was evaluating the papers. After that, a committee of senior officers was constituted to investigate the matter. Following this, the principal of the college has been suspended for negligence, and Ram Gulam Patel, the nodal officer for the evaluation work, has also been suspended.”
He added:
“Additionally, Khushboo Pagare, the guest faculty member responsible for evaluating the copies, claimed that her health was not fine, so she was not present for the evaluation work, so she was terminated from the service. The person who did the evaluation work, Pannalal Patharia, lab technician and Rakesh Mehar, who is a book lifter and helped in this matter, have also been terminated. A total of two people have been suspended and three people have been terminated from their services into the matter.”
On the issue of re-evaluation, Rajan assured that students would not suffer:
“There will be no loss to the students and those copies which were checked before will be re-evaluated by competent people whose job is to check the copies. Also, strict action has been taken in the matter; suspension and termination orders have been uploaded on the departmental website. This kind of negligence should not happen again and if it is found anywhere, strict action will be taken.”
Higher Education Minister Inder Singh Parmar emphasized the seriousness of the issue:
“The department has considered the matter very seriously about examination copies given to ineligible persons for evaluation in Pipariya. We have ensured action against those who were found guilty in it, including the Principal of the College.”
In contrast, Congress spokesperson Ravi Saxena criticized the ruling administration for widespread mismanagement:
“There is chaos spreading all around in this government, be it health, education or unemployment. Neither law and order nor other things are in place. So, if a peon is evaluating examination papers in today’s Mohan government in the state, then it is not surprising because they have nothing to do with education. There is only corruption in this government and nothing else.”
He further alleged:
“The government’s job is to monitor the situation all the time, what is happening in the state, but after the incident, they began eye washing. They have taken action and suspended those involved in the incident, but it will not work. These are some examples which came to light but there are millions of examples which get unnoticed. The government should pay attention to them.”
The Congress party has demanded stricter enforcement and systemic reforms to ensure such lapses are not repeated in the future.