BHOPAL: The Professional Examination Board, better known by its Hindi acronym ‘Vyapam’, which became synonymous with corruption in Madhya Pradesh , will soon be a thing of the past.The Kamal Nath government has decided to get rid of the scam-tainted Vyapam, which was BJP’s nightmare in its third term in power, and replace it with a transparent, PSC-style organization. Shutting down Vyapam was one of the key promises in the Congress Vachan Patra ahead of election.Minister for higher education Jeetu Patwari confirmed it on Monday, saying: “What is the use of continuing with a department on which people have no trust? As per our manifesto, we will disband it after Lok Sabha elections,” he said, adding: “A new department for recruitment, on the lines of state PSC, will be opened to replace it. There will be completely new staff.”Asked about the structure of the new recruitment department, Patwari said, “It will be completely transparent. We want that people develop trust and confidence in it. The new set-up will be developed in association with the technical education department.”Congress spokesperson Shobha Oza told mediapersons on Monday that ‘Karmacharai Chayan Ayog’ will replace Vyapam.Law minister PC Sharma welcomed the decision. “At present, people are afraid of Vyapam as it was a hub of corruption. There is a need to end this distrust and scepticism about a government department. The Congress government is doing just that. It’s a step in the right direction,” said Sharma.BJP isn’t impressed, and says it’s mere cosmetic change. “It is just a name-changing exercise. I do not think government will be able to make a difference. The need of the hour is a complete overhaul. But this, I think, is no more than a change of name,” said Leader of Opposition Gopal Bhargava Sharma countered that Vyapam has become synonymous with corruption. “The previous government had also attempted to change the name of Vyapam but people’s distrust continued. This time, we want to ensure that people will not be scared of the recruitment department,” said the law minister.Since its inception in 1997, Vyapam has been accused of 13 scams -- including medical entrance and examinations for recruitment of constables, forest and other government staff. The scamsters turned the racket into a well-oiled system, where candidates could have their choice of cheating method for the right price. If they paid enough, a medical entrance candidate need only turn up at the examination hall, hand over a blank OMR sheet, and fill it in at leisure after the answer keys are out. It also made the engine-bogie system a household term – where a ‘solver’ would be strategically seated in the hall to help those who had paid the racketeers cheat the test. Big politicians, bureaucrats and businessmen have been caught in the Vyapam net. One of the prime accused, Jagdish Sagar, who is out on bail, contested on a BSP ticket.

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