J&K: Admit Card Issued to 'Brown Cow' for Professional Exam – Prank or Flaw in System?

In Jammu & Kashmir, a cow named Kachir Gaw has been issued an admit card with its photo and tail on it to appear in Board of Professional Entrance Examinations (BOPEE) for a polytechnic diploma course.

The admit card issued to the cow has been approved by BOPEE and is signed of the controller of examination. National Conference spokesperson Junaid Azim Mattu had on Saturday uploaded a photo of the provisional electronic admit card on social media platform Twitter.

According to the admit card, Kachir Gaw, daughter of Gura Dand (bull), has been allotted Roll No. 257394 to appear for Diploma in Polytechnic Entrance Test 2015 scheduled for 10 May at the examination centre – "Room No. 5 - Commerce Block Government Degree College, Bemina Srinagar".

Born on 1 January, 1997, Kachir Gaw was issued the admit card after she made the payment for the application form filled online and after a "proper verification" of her details.

"The J&K Board of Professional Entrance Examinations issued this roll-number slip to a cow after due verification. I have both the Provisional Confirmation Page for applicant Ms 'Kachir Gaw' as well as details of payment she made to BOPEE," Mattu tweeted, adding that BOPEE has now taken down the admit card from its website.

However after an informal heads-up was sent to the Government, BOPEE was asked to take the record down from their website this morning. 3/n

— Junaid Azim Mattu (@Junaid_Mattu) May 2, 2015

He further tweeted questioning the possibility of loopholes or flaw in the educational system even as the BOPEE's controller of examinations Farooq Ahmad Mir claimed it was a prank.

.@imranrezaansari Look beyond the cow. The whistleblower chose the cow to reveal a flaw in the system that can be exploited by humans, no? — Junaid Azim Mattu (@Junaid_Mattu) May 2, 2015

.@imranrezaansari And what if someone would like to use this loophole to appear for someone else? A proxy for a candidate? That be an issue?

— Junaid Azim Mattu (@Junaid_Mattu) May 2, 2015

Reacting on the entire episode, Mir said that the admit cards are issued online and as the computer cannot differentiate between the face of human and animal, there is a possibility that somebody may have played a prank.

"All the applications are now made online. The image recognition software does not differentiate between a human face or the picture of an animal. Someone has played a prank," PTI quoted Mir as saying.

Clarifying on his signature on the admit card, Mir said, "I do not sign the admit cards in person. This is a system-generated signature and comes by default."

Mocking the incident, both Mattu and NC chief Omar Abdullah said that they would now want to see the cow taking the examination for a professional course.

Brilliant. I wish Kachir Gaaw had turned up for the examination https://t.co/l5SeRclvZF

— Omar Abdullah (@abdullah_omar) May 2, 2015

.@imranrezaansari In the spirit of 'battle of ideas' - We hope Ms. Kachir Gaw is allowed to sit for the examination. That's an idea too. :-) — Junaid Azim Mattu (@Junaid_Mattu) May 2, 2015