Regional director named kingpin of education scam

 The Southern Regional Committee of the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) failed to spot false building completion certificates and fabricated faculty strength declarations, while recognising 43 teacher training institutions.

The CBI, which is probing the case against the committee, charged that regional director Dr P Revathi Reddy is the kingpin of the racket. It is sifting through records of 638 institutions recognised to run 937 teacher training programmes from this year, raising doubts as to how so many institutions can be recognised in a short span of time.

CBI sources said the committee ignored the colleges’ claims by failing to conduct on-the-spot verification, thereby not properly implementing the NCTE rules and norms.

In some cases, the colleges presented morphed building photographs along with the applications to the Bengaluru-based committee that governs all southern states.

The scam came to light in June when CBI and NCTE vigilance wing jointly raided Dr Reddy’s office in Nagarbhavi in Bengaluru, after which the regional director had been repatriated to her home state of Andhra Pradesh.

Preliminary inspection of files suggested that seven out of 10 colleges in Karnataka received formal recognition without having the prescribed built-up area and exaggerated list of faculties to offer bachelors, diploma and masters courses.

The tainted institutions include Bijapur’s Kalidas Teachers Training Institution and  Bagalkot’s Kalidas College of Education.