Puducherry minister sits for Class X exams

There are few professions that don't require any education and one among them is politics. India has seen some uneducated politicians who have achieved great heights in politics and governance. However, an uneducated person being an Education Minister looks odd. P M L Kalyanasundaram, the Education Minister of Puducherry, should have felt so and that is why he decided to take up Class X supplementary exams.

Twenty years ago, in 1991 he quit his studies after failing in science and social sciences in Class X. Then he joined his elder brother in his sand mining business and later joined politics. He contested in 2006 assembly elections and became MLA on a BJP ticket.

Two decades after quitting his school education, Kalyanasundaram now appeared in supplementary exam in science in Tindivanam town, around 120 kilometers from Chennai. Being Education Minister of the state, Kalyanasundaram wants to graduate so that he wouldn't look unfit to the job. "I started preparing for the exams with the help of my friends. I took the science exams yesterday but could not appear for the social science exams today (30/09/11)) as I had to attend a meeting," said Kalyanasundaram. "I wrote well my science exam and hope will get more than 60 per cent marks," he said.

Kalyanasundaram didn't want appear for the exam in a school located in Puducherry because that would attract lot media attention so he chose Tindivanam as examination centre. He joined BA at Madras University under the Open University stream in 2011-12 after becoming a minister because it is the easiest route to become a graduate and effectively used by many politicians who want to show the public that they are also educated. But, Kalyanasundaram later decided to finish his formal school education.

In India, a person with some "resource" can buy a fake degree in any subject and can get a highly paid job. So, it is indeed surprising that this minister didn't try such shortcuts.