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RAIPUR: The headmistress of a govt school in Chhattisgarh has been suspended while a contractual assistant teacher faces dismissal after a Class 4 English exam paper listed ‘Ram’ as a possible answer to a multiple-choice question about the name of a protagonist’s dog, reports Partha Behera. The paper-setter said the error occurred as a result of inadvertently dropping the last letter of ‘Ramu’. The school education department announced the decision on Saturday, four days after the question paper sparked protests across state by VHP, Bajrang Dal and other organisations. Shikha Soni, headmistress of a govt primary school in Nakti village of Tilda block, had set the paper for half-yearly examinations across govt schools in Raipur division. Namrata Verma, an assistant teacher on contract, moderated it. To the question ‘What is the name of Mona’s dog?’, students had four options to choose from: ‘Bala’, ‘Sheru’, ‘Ram’ and ‘No one’. Soni said the ‘typo’ went unnoticed while Verma said she failed to spot the incorrect option.Both maintained they had no intention of hurting religious sentiments or any community.
