Students from engineering colleges affiliated to the Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University have been smiling all the way to the examination halls. It has now become easy for them, especially those from private colleges, to lay their hands on leaked question papers.

However, the leaks are not surprising as the paper-setters submit just one question paper to the university instead of the required set of three. Moreover, they take their own sweet time to submit the paper, at times as long as three months so that university officials are always on tenterhooks wondering whether they will be able to conduct the examination at all!

Finally, the paper is handed in an hour before the examination commences, so that the only option to keep the exam from being cancelled is to get the handwritten manuscript photocopied and then hastily distributed in the exam halls. It is baffling as to why the university takes all this lyingdown with Vice-Chancellor Shriraj Nakade agreeing that the `system' encourages leaks. The paper setters also have an answer for the unfortunate few who cannot lay their hands on the leaked paper.

They make sure that the tally of marks assigned to the questions do not add up to 100. Anyone who can do a bit of arguing with university clerks and lecturers can have their way by demanding that their marks be rounded off to the nearest digit. Sometimes, these arguments can yield as many as three to four vital marks, teachers say!Bored of Development?FOR about two generations, every political party in Marathwada was obsessed with the setting up of a statutory development board, perceived as a panacea for the region. Significantly, both persons who have occupied the office of the board president have not been able to instill any confidence about the board's efficacy.

It was generally believed that the board would do what members of the Legislative Assembly were unable to deliver. However, both former presidentsfirst Kamal Kishan Kadam of the Congress and then Diwakar Raote of the Shiv Sena have proved that this was a fallacy. Both resigned from office to seek a berth in the ministry. Now the president's office is waiting for its next incumbent. But, surprise, surprise, there are no takers! Some anti-climax to a two-generations-long agitation.

Verdict: Not Guilty! Files in at least one government office overcame their legendary inertia, with the district forum for redressal of complaints on corruption clearing a record 80 of the 190 complaints registered with it between December 24, 1996 and April 13, 1998. However, the forum, set up in every district following a demand by social activist Anna Hazare, has also found that none of these complaints were worth investigating.

One reason why the `guilty' have remained elusive is that the committee has no non-government representative on its panel. With government officials left to investigate each other's misdeeds, they probably figured that one good turn deservesanother.- K S MANOJKUMAR