Four teachers dismissed for fake certificates

RTI reply finds they have served more than 22 years

Four primary school teachers were found to have been appointed on the basis of forged marksheets.

This anomaly was detected after the teachers had rendered their services for more than 22 years. With the Right to Information Act being used vigorously, more and more skeletons are tumbling out from the Bihar government’s cupboard. The discovery of these fake certificates is another such instance.

The irregularity would have remained under the wraps, had the RTI activist Ram Sagar Mahto not sought information from the Education Department about the authenticity of the certificates of the four teachers in Begusarai district.

The teachers identified as Prayag Mahto, Babulal Mahto, Chandrashekhar Singh and Bishnudeo Mahto, were appointed in 1989 and posted in different blocks of Begusarai.

The district programme officer of the Education Department C B Lal, acting on the RTI query from Ram Sagar, verified the certificates of the four teachers in question, with the Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB) in Patna.

“On verification, it was found that the certificates submitted by these teachers were fake,” said an RTI activist, well versed with the development.

Salary withdrawn
After verifying the facts, the Bihar government acted swiftly. It not only dismissed the four primary teachers, but also ordered that a sum of Rs 2 crore be realised from them, who had drawn their salary and other incentives since their appointment in 1989.

“The district education officer (DEO) has lodged an FIR against the four accused, while the drawing and disbursing officer (DDO) concerned has been asked to initiate the process of realisation of the sum (Rs 2 crore) from the dismissed teachers,” a source said.