Patna University gold medal not worth its weight?

Patna University gold medal not worth its weight?

All that glitters is not gold, goes the cliché but for one Patna University gold medallist, it turned harsh reality.

Ankita Kumari was the topper in MSc (Botany) from Patna University and was awarded a gold medal on December 30, 2005. To her shock, not even a month had passed before the gold medal lost its sheen and faded. A goldsmith told her it was not made of gold.

During Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s Seva Yatra in Muzaffarpur recently, Ankita left him staggered with the news. The CM has now ordered an inquiry.

Ankita had earlier approached university officials and professors but reportedly no one thought it an issue big enough to spare time for. Losing all hope and cursing her fate, she involved herself in a school teaching job in Muzaffarpur. Time passed by and Ankita lost the wish to remember her postgraduation feat.

However, when she heard that the Chief Minister was scheduled to visit Muzaffarpur in course of his Seva Yatra, she decided to meet him and bring it into his notice. Ankita managed to get some time with him at the local Khudi Ram Bose Stadium on November 18, where Kumar was meeting the locals and noting their complaints.

Visibly surprised, the CM immediately asked his officials to make an inquiry and assured Ankita that justice would be done to her.

Nitish Kumar’s firm hand gave Ankita’s case the momentum that she couldn’t manage herself. A day later, Patna University Vice-Chancellor Shambu Nath Singh constituted a three-member committee to inquire into the details of all the gold medals awarded from 2002 to 2011, with a specific reference to one awarded to Ankita.

The committee - comprising Professors Bharti S Kumar, UK Sinha and PK Poddar of Patna University will be submitting report within a week.

The Vice-Chancellor, however, did wonder how out of 60 toppers of different subjects who were awarded the gold in 2005, only Ankita complained. “No other student has turned up with the same complaint...its surprising,” said Singh. He also said that since a university gold medal is the most prized possession of a student, any compromise on its quality is unacceptable.

“The inquiry will reveal whether there was any deviation from the set rules or a deliberate fraud with the student concerned. If anything wrong is found, strong action will taken against the guilty,” Singh added.

He also said the university would soon review procedure and practice of awarding gold medals and prepare a transparent norm approved by the statutory committee.

However, university sources told The Pioneer that the normal practice and procedure across the country is that gold medals be made of silver and plated with gold. “But through the probe, we can find out what’s been the procedure at Patna University since 2002,” said a professor of the university.

He added that some other students who too were awarded golds that year may be called in to help in the inquiry.

Meanwhile, Ankita is keeping her fingers crossed and hoping that her gold medal finally turns out to be all it glitters to be!