UP teachers bribe to get suspended

But the Uttar Pradesh’s primary education department has been witnessing a different trend. Here, the teachers have been approaching senior officials to suspend them, and they are even offering money to get themselves suspended on trivial grounds.

One may be surprised as to why some one should pay money to be suspended. The reason is simple. These teachers utilise the time doing their own work.

“As many as 132 cases have come to light since July this year in which teachers paid money to senior officials for getting suspension order,” said a senior official in the primary education department.

Teacher-Member of the UP legislative council Y D Sharma has lodged a complaint with the basic education minister along with the details of the teachers involved in doing so.
“The teachers know very well that they will be re-instated and then they will get their full salary as the grounds for their suspension are trivial and lack substance,” Sharma said.
“Some of these teachers own huge tracts of land or business and they utilise their time in looking after them,” he added.

The official said that such complaints have also been received from other remote areas as well. “Many complaints have been found to be true prima facie... we are taking action in these cases,” the official said.

The going rate for getting suspended ranges from Rs 35,000 to as much as Rs 50,000.
Basic education minister D S Saini who took the matter seriously has summoned the records of all suspension orders in the department during the past few months.