BATHINDA: That the tiger is the national animal of India is an answer which even young school students would know, but the Punjab education department seems to think that lion, and not tiger, is the national animal. Tiger tales apart, Punjab's education department also seems blissfully ignorant about the constitutional fact that it's the Governor, and not the CM, who happens to be the head of state. The chief minister is the head of executive.

These bloomers came to light while testing the knowledge of students of classes V, VI, VII and VIII in government schools at a state level competition. On February 2, under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), the education department conducted a knowledge test in four subjects ' social studies, mathematics, science and English ' at the block level all over the state.

Three students securing highest marks at the block level were to be given a cash award of Rs 2,000 (for first position), Rs 1,500 (second position) and Rs 1,000 (third position). However, while checking these objective-type answers on February 5, teachers were instructed to strictly go by an 'answer key' which carried the erroneous answers. Going by that, the teachers had no option but to cross out the answer of students who wrote tiger as the national animal and governor as head of the state. It was not only in social studies subject that the knowledge of the education department itself was misplaced, the same was the case with science too. In answer to a question about diseases which spread due to the consumption of polluted water, according to the 'answer key,' only that answer was to be marked as correct, where the students had written typhoid. Students who wrote diarrhoea, gastroenteritis and jaundice were marked 'wrong'.

Sukhdev Singh, block primary education officer in Faridkot said, many teachers brought the matter to his notice. So teachers kept the checking in abeyance pending further instructions.

"These are big mistakes. I have already raised the matter with the higher authorities for rectifications," said Faridkot district education officer, Baljit Singh.