The institute takes a deposit from students, which is refunded after their undergrad course is over. They have to obtain 'no-dues' certificate from each department before they can get a refund. The certificate is a form with names of the various departments printed on it. I sign all such forms once a week. It is a routine job, which does not require any conscious thought, and which is devoid of any surprises. But that day was different. There was a surprise that I could not have thought of in my wildest imagination. I reproduce an image of the application letter accompanying the form here.
The name of the applicant is written at the top right corner. The signature of the applicant is at the bottom right corner, below which is the name of the applicant. In the said application, the name at the top was quite different from the name at the bottom. I kept the form aside and left a message for the applicant to see me. He/she* arrived in due course. When I drew his/her* attention to the anomaly, he/she* gave the following explanation.
"Actually this is my friend's application. He/she* has gone home, and asked me to get it signed by all department heads."
"What is the your friend's name?" I asked.
"It is the one at the top" he/she* said.
"Whose name is at the bottom?" I asked.
"That is mine" he/she said. "I did not realize he/she* had written his/her* name at the top."
I could see he/she* was distressed, and I did not have the inclination and time to stress him/her* any more. So I returned the form, advising him/her* to submit a properly filled and signed application. But the truth of the matter was that the applicant had filled the application in his/her* own name, but not signed it. The proxy applicant had signed it in his/her* own name instead of the applicant. Can we call this innocence or something else? I wonder what happens to the great minds during the 5.5 years they spend in undergrad medical education.
(Note: * use of 'he/she' is to protect the identity of the persons involved, just as the intentional blurring of their names on the form is.)
The name of the applicant is written at the top right corner. The signature of the applicant is at the bottom right corner, below which is the name of the applicant. In the said application, the name at the top was quite different from the name at the bottom. I kept the form aside and left a message for the applicant to see me. He/she* arrived in due course. When I drew his/her* attention to the anomaly, he/she* gave the following explanation.
"Actually this is my friend's application. He/she* has gone home, and asked me to get it signed by all department heads."
"What is the your friend's name?" I asked.
"It is the one at the top" he/she* said.
"Whose name is at the bottom?" I asked.
"That is mine" he/she said. "I did not realize he/she* had written his/her* name at the top."
I could see he/she* was distressed, and I did not have the inclination and time to stress him/her* any more. So I returned the form, advising him/her* to submit a properly filled and signed application. But the truth of the matter was that the applicant had filled the application in his/her* own name, but not signed it. The proxy applicant had signed it in his/her* own name instead of the applicant. Can we call this innocence or something else? I wonder what happens to the great minds during the 5.5 years they spend in undergrad medical education.
(Note: * use of 'he/she' is to protect the identity of the persons involved, just as the intentional blurring of their names on the form is.)
