JOIN USScam rocks IMA-funded school
A school adopted by the Ponzi company I Monetary Advisory Group of Companies is in disarray after the company went bust.
The Government V K Obaidullah School at Shivajinagar, adopted by IMA, is short of teachers, and the substitute teachers sent by the government are finding it difficult to cope with students who understand little Kannada.
The IMA Group allegedly cheated thousands of investors by promising high returns on their investments. Mohammed Mansoor Khan, its MD and CEO who supported the school, is on the run. The school has 1,662 students, from pre-primary to Class 10. Its total teaching staff strength is 83, but only 13 are on the government’s payroll.
The rest were being paid their salaries by IMA: they stopped coming to school after news of the scam broke on June 10.
The government has stepped in and deputed 21 teachers from its schools. The students only speak Urdu (the language they understand, although this is an English medium school), and many teachers, used to teaching Kannada children, are at a loss about how to go about their work.The children are getting extra time for sports and games, as a result.
Asima, Urdu teacher, is contemplating quitting because she hasn‘t got her salary. “I get Rs 17,000 a month. Most of the teaching staff have moved on to other schools like RBANMS.
I am looking at joining a school where I get a regular salary,” says Asima.
Chikthayamma, on deputation from a government school in Kadugondanahalli, is a PT teacher who occasionally teaches Kannada. “The students are taking time to adjust to us. In my previous school there were only about 35 students per teacher but here there are 60. I can‘t speak Urdu and students don‘t seem to understand Kannada,” she told Metrolife.
Bhagyamma, deputed from B Channasandra School in Kasturi Nagar, wonders how a Kannada teacher like her can translate lessons into Urdu.
“We are not clear about how long we are supposed to be here. Nobody from the education department has inquired after us after we were deputed here,“ she says.
Keshav, mathematics teacher from a government school in Murphy Town, says many students walk out of class the moment the new teachers step in.
“They go to the terrace to play. When the change took place, some students raised slogans, demanding the new teachers go back. This
is humiliating,“ a teacher says.
Waiting for TC
Nazir Sayeed, father of a sixth standard student at Government V K Obaidullah School at Shivajinagar, is keen to move his daughter to another school.
“No classes are being held and the teachers just ask the children to play. I don‘t want to put my child‘s future at stake,” says Nazir, who has been trying to get a transfer certificate for four days.
Sufia, with two sons studying in the school, got seats for them after she invested in IMA schemes.
“One son is in eighth standard and I am keen to take him to another school. My husband has invested Rs 5 lakh and four relatives have invested another Rs 5 lakh. All of them stand to lose money and I don‘t want my child to study in such an institution,” she says.
23 cops guard school
A van full of police personnel attached to the Karnataka Reserve Police Force have been stationed at the Shivajinagar school since Monday. Chowdappa, senior officer, says, “We are 23 and work in two shifts. We come in at 8 am and leave at 8 pm. We are here as a precautionary measure.”
1,600+ students
The government school in Shivajinagar adopted by IMA has 1,662 students, and holds classes from pre-primary to Class 10. Of 83 teachers, only 13 are on the government payroll, and they remain. The government has posted 21 additional teachers now.w
Govt looking for NGO to fund teachers’ salaries
A senior official with the department of public instruction told Metrolife 21 teachers have been moved out of government schools and deputed to the Shivajinagar school adopted by IMA. “Twenty teachers from the primary section suddenly stopped coming to work. We replaced them with 21,” says the official. Eighteen of the existing teachers were willing to work even after the collapse of IMA. “But when we scrutinised their certificates, we found that not all of them were qualified. Most of them had only a B Com degree and no B Ed,” he said.
Only those with a bachelor’s degree and a B Ed qualify to teach at government schools. Six qualified teachers will join the school scoon, the official says. The department hopes to find an NGO to pay the salaries of newly appointed IMA teachers. “Their salaries were paid by IMA and they were not on the government payroll,“ he explains.
Scene at school
The scene at the Nehru English High School on St Johns Church Road in Cleveland Town is more organised. This is the second school run by IMA. “Classes are going on without any interruption,“ a senior teacher said. Outside, the prominent IMA board is gone, but the one inside the school office remains.Staffers put on a brave front when Metrolife visited the school, and wouldn’t answer questions on how they would manage in the wake of the scam.
Mansoor Khan wants to return, but...
In an 18-minute video, IMA founder Mohammed Mansoor Khan says he is willing to return to India if police give him protection. He has mentioned the names of many prominent people, including politicians, implying they caused his downfall.
A special investigation team (SIT) headed by Ravikanthe Gowda says the police are aware of his whereabouts.
“If Khan surrenders before the police, he will be given complete protection and his safety will be taken care of,” he says.
B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan, minority welfare minister, says Mansoor Khan has no reason to fear if he wants to return money to the investors.
K Rahman Khan, former Union minister, says the government failed to act against IMA despite an Enforcement Doctorate alert in 2017.
BJP legislator Dr C N Ashwath Narayan wants the case handed over to a Central agency.
He alleges many leaders from the ruling Congress in Karnataka are implicated in the scam.
Deccan Herald is on WhatsApp Channels| Join now for Breaking News & Editor's Picks