The cow science exam row has escalated pretty quick. To catch you up, here’s what has happened with Kamdhenu Gau Vigyan Prachar-Prasar Examination until now.
Rashtriya Kamdhenu Aayog, set up under the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying announced a national examination on Cow Science with the aim to educate people about the importance of cows.
Drama and a fiery Cameo
What made a huge noise about this exam was its 54-page syllabus which made many unscientific claims like people who had cow dung on their walls were saved during Bhopal Gas Tragedy, killing of cows is the reason behind earthquakes and Indian cows give yellowish milk for it has gold in it.
The exam was all set to happen on 25th February, but then it was postponed with no specific reason being stated. On the other hand Aayog’s Chairman, Kathiria told The Times of India that the exam was postponed due to “administrative reasons”. In his statement, he said that a new date would be fixed within the next three to four days. This decision was taken a day after RKA chairman, Kathiria left office at the end of his two-year term.
But the drama doesn’t end here. The ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying announced that RKA had no ‘mandate’ to conduct such examinations.
“To date, the Ministry was not involved. Only Mr Kathiria was involved and he was conducting the exam. Ministry does not know the exam paper and did not play any role in the reference material for the exam…We will now examine everything on a scientific basis, and then take some decision.”
Dr Chaudhary who is the joint secretary within the Animal Husbandry Department told The Hindu. Maybe the Ministry was taking some time off social media that’s why it wasn’t aware of its development. Obviously, it’s toxic and everyone should take some time off. It’s a pandemic after all, we get it.
Sadly, all 5 lac candidates who reportedly registered for the exam, will have to wait a little more to display their intellect in cow science.
But here’s some good news to cheer you up. An NGO in Haryana is all set to launch a Cow cuddling centre. Its statements are very much synonymous with the syllabus of the postponed cow science exam. An example would be that Cow cuddling can cure respiratory and heart diseases and it should be called the ‘world mother’.
Who stood for true Education?
When the University Grants Commission (UGC) itself came in handy to such pseudoscientific exams, there were some universities and organisations that stood for the true spirit of learning and education.
The Kerala Sasthra Sahithya Parishad, which recognizes itself as a “people’s science movement” had questioned the exam on grounds of the reference material which was controversial and had no scientific validity.
Though many of the media outlets misreported that Jadavpur University rejected the cow science exam, the university didn’t take any official stance. A statement was released by an unofficial Facebook page with the University’s name, which does not belong to JU. Partha Pratim Ray, joint secretary of Jadavpur University Teachers’ Association (JUTA), pointed out that though the statement was not issued by the varsity, “It reflected the sentiments of the teaching fraternity”.
Earlier, several other Professors criticized the exam calling it an attempt to ‘legitimize untruths’ and to ‘inject specific ideology into the students’.
