BHUBANESWAR: Already rocked by the controversial admissions of six students through submission of fake marksheets recently, the prestigious Regional Institute of Education (RIE) in Bhubaneswar received yet another jolt by a girl, who too resorted to manipulation to get into RIE, established by the National Council of Education Research and Training (NCERT).

The girl, currently a second year B.Ed (Arts) student at RIE, managed to get admission by producing a certificate, which showed she completed her graduation in history from a college affiliated to the Utkal University. But in reality, she graduated in Psychology from A S College in Tirtol of Jagatsinghpur district.

"We found the manipulation during verification of her marksheet and informed the RIE authorities. She completed Psychology in 2008 from the A S College. Shockingly, the marksheet sent by RIE for verification showed she was a student of History," deputy controller of examinations of Utkal University, Narahari Sethi, said.

Sources said the vice-chancellor of the varsity promptly rang up the RIE principal to discuss the issue, which caused damage to both the institutes. Though managed by NCERT, the RIE of Bhubaneswar is affiliated to the Utkal University. Sources said the Utkal University was planning to cancel the certificates of the seven errant students.

A few months ago, RIE was left red-faced after the North Orissa University (NOU) in Baripada stumbled upon six 'fake' marksheets, being used by students, including some girls to get admissions in two-year B.Ed course. The fraudulent activities surfaced in separate phases. RIE had subsequently sent the marksheets of all students to different universities, from where they completed their graduations, for verification after the first three students were caught on the wrong foot. The latest incident has opened a can of worms, heightening the suspicion that a strong racket is operating in the state to help students procure bogus certificates.

NOU's controller of examinations Laxmidhar Nayak said: "We are also taking the matter very seriously. Our syndicate is planning to hand over the matter to the state vigilance directorate for investigation."

But the NCERT is yet to initiate any action against those six students, three of which are still studying in the institute. "It seems NCERT is trying to hush up the issue. We suspect the involvement of some RIE authorities in the manipulation," a former RIE student said. RIE principal U K Nanda refused to comment.