Name Rajeev Kumar | Role Professor | |
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Rajeev Kumar is a Professor at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur. After a tenacious struggle during which he was suspended from his job, Kumar was instrumental in introducing greater transparency into the Joint Entrance Examination system by which the prestigious IITs admit undergraduate students. He is the recipient of the National RTI Award, 2010. In 2011, a Supreme Court judgement called him "one of the many unsung heroes who help in improving the system."
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Since 2006, Rajeev Kumar has been using the Right to Information Act(RTI) to gain information about how the JEE exam decides on its admission criteria. After a "protracted legal struggle" involving several aspects of IIT administration, in 2010, this led to the Delhi High Court ordering the IITs to release such information. Since 2012, every candidate gets a carbon copy of his paper, and the various cutoffs are announced.
Suspension for whistleblowing
In 2011, Kumar was suspended for damaging the reputation of IIT Kharagpur by reporting the massive copying that goes on in the institute, and for exposing a scam in the purchase of laptop computers. The institute had also illegally accessed Kumar's phone records. This led to noted Supreme Court lawyer and activist Prashant Bhushan asking the MHRD Minister Kapil Sibal to ensure that whistleblowers like Rajeev should not be harassed. Despite letters from the MHRD and the Central Vigilance Commission in 2013, IIT Kharagpur did not revoke the suspension. In July 2012, the registrar of IIT wrote to the ministry "saying the withdrawal of suspension of Prof. Kumar and resumption of duties would adversely affect the academic atmosphere of the institute."
Finally, the suspension was lifted in May 2013,