Maybe it is time to delink degrees from jobs

With the discovery of blank examination answer sheets that got their ‘examinees’ pass marks in yet another alleged education-related scam in Bihar, an interesting picture is emerging of the dynamics of the fake degree market.

There are two ways to clear exams illegally: go through the ordeal of getting a ‘scholar’ to write the exam for the actual student, or save on hiring professional exam writers by getting blank answer sheets duly marked and passed. The entrepreneurial ability of the protagonists of this racket is undeniable but which option proves cheaper is yet to be ascertained.

It all depends on market conditions. For instance, as there are supposed to very few women on call for writing exams due to the low female literacy rate in Bihar, the other option may be the easier one. Much also depends on the reliability of the tout to provide proxy writers guaranteed to deliver pass marks.

Otherwise, banking on a crooked college to do the needful without the variable factor of second-party exam writers —as the blank answer sheets imply — is inevitable. The rising incidence of such scams also points to exam writing becoming a sunrise industry — given the steady demand for degrees — at a time when other jobs are hard to come by for ‘educated’ but unemployed youth. Maybe it is time to delink degrees from jobs.