Fake teachers sacked after 22 years

RTI power

With the Right to Information (RTI) Act being used vigorously, more and more skeletons are tumbling out from the Bihar Government’s cupboard.

In one such instance, 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.

The irregularity would have remained under 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.

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

The district programme officer of the Education Department C B Lal, on RTI query from Ram Sagar, verified the certificates of the said four teachers with the Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB) in Patna. “On verification, it was found that the certificates submitted by the four teachers were fake,” said an RTI activist, well versed with the development.

The Bihar Government acted swiftly and after verifying the facts not only dismissed the four primary teachers, but also ordered that a sum of Rs 2 crore be realised from the foursome, who had drawn as 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 have been asked to initiate the process of realisation of the sum (Rs 2 crore) from the dismissed teachers,” the source added.