Siliguri, June 28: Two more days to go and Nibedita Dasgupta will have lost two whole years of her academic life.
A student of Pushparani Roy Memorial High School, Kurseong, Nibedita took the higher secondary (HS) examinations conducted by the West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education (WBCHSE) in March 2004.
More than a year has passed, but she is yet to receive her marksheet. Reason: her answer script for chemistry paper-II got ?too scary to believe, but true ? ?lost in transit?.
?I could not seek admission to the graduation course last year because I did not have the marksheet,? Nibedita said from her Rajbari Bank Road home. ?This year too, I am little hopeful. The last date for submitting admission forms at Kurseong College is June 30 and I still don?t have my marksheet,? she added.
When contacted by The Telegraph, a senior official of the WBCHSE here, said: ?As of now the marksheet is ready and they can collect the same from our Siliguri office.?
The Dasguptas, however, have refused to buy this claim as they have had a different experience.
?I have been running from pillar to post since last year. Every time I went to the WBCHSE?s regional office in Siliguri, the officials there used to assure me that the marksheet would reach my home in the next ?two-three days?. More than a year has passed after that,? said Basudeb Dasgupta, Nibedita's father who works at Kurseong All India Radio.
When Nibedita did not get her marksheet on June 27 last year, the day the results were declared, she was told it was because of ?non-correction of admit card?.
On being contacted in August 2004?a month later? Malay Roy, the secretary of the HS council?s regional office, had said the delay could have been because of some kind of anomaly in the admit card. He had said if she approached the regional office and got it verified, she would be issued the mark-sheet within three days.
?But on October 6, I got a letter saying the answer script of chemistry paper II was lost in transit,? Nibedita said.
She added: ?I was given three alternatives: to accept the marks obtained in the other paper of the subject, to appear again in the paper or to receive marks pro rata. I selected the last and the filled-in form was sent to the WBCHSE's Siliguri office. On April 27 this year, I was served another letter asking me to fill in my preference all over again. I did so immediately. But two months have passed, and nothing has materialised.?
An official of the council?s office here has blamed Nibedita and her parents for the delay. ?First, they were late in sending in the candidate?s preference. Second, they messed up certain procedures. Since they thought the candidate would fail, they were not much interested in keeping touch with our Siliguri office.?
With her total score falling short of the pass mark by about 35, Nibedita?s fate depends on what she has scored in the lost paper.
?Even if we suppose that she has failed, she lost the chance to reappear for this year?s HS exams for no fault of hers,? he added.
