Is it Brahmaputra or Ganga? Maharashtra board errs on longest river

Which is the longest river in India? If you said Ganga, you are right but not qualified to be a Shikshan Sevak in a government school.

According to the answer key to the Common Entrance Test (CET), conducted by the Maharashtra State Education Board (MSEB), the answer is Bramhaputra, contradicting the board’s own textbooks.

Contesting the result of the CET, held in May this year, three unsuccessful candidates — Pravin Khandagale (22), Nataji Gadekar (24) and Rukmini Gadekar (22) — moved the Bombay high court.

The petitioners, who fell short of two marks, contended that had they been given the marks for answering the five questions correctly, they would have cleared the test.

Their counsel Mukesh Vashi told the court on Thursday that the ninth and tenth standard textbooks, printed by the board, also say that Ganga is the longest river in India. Justice PB Majmudar then said that the same question was also asked on popular television show Kaun Banega Crorepati. “There also they said it is Ganga,” Majmudar said.

After the results were out, the MSEB put up the answer key on its website. However, the petitioners contended, answers to five questions were incorrect.

The other questions, which were allegedly wrongly answered, were — which Marathi film bagged Sant Tukaram award for best film in 2010, which sport has been introduced for the first time in the commonwealth games to be held in Delhi in October 2010, which is the new element invented after the periodic table prepared by Mandelef and at what point does water evaporate.

In the affidavit filed by Savita Phatale, evaluation officer of the board, it has been admitted that these questions were wrongly answered in the answer key. However, she said not all the three had answered them correctly.

She further stated that the board had given four marks to all candidates. However, she said that marks cannot be increased to make as it would be unfair to the 54,695 selected candidates.

Majmudar said, “You (government) cannot play with anybody’s future. Why should they (petitioners) go with stigma? You have to increase the marks.” The court has called the board chairman to explain the government’s stand on December 21.