Spouse's job to illness, teachers faked it for transfer

The beginning fresh academic season in Karnataka has been marred by the controversy brewing over teachers faking documents to get transfers to their desired places.

Complaints about teachers submitting fake documents for transfers have been flooding the department and it was a shock for the new education minister S R Srinivas who held the first review of the department on Saturday, after assuming charge a few days ago.

Sources in the education department revealed told DH that fake documents had been submitted by teachers largely in cases involving transfers of couples and those sought on medical grounds. Alerted by large-scale complaints, the education department has begun to screen applications to test the validity of documents.

P C Jaffer, Commissioner, Department of Public Instruction (DPI), said, “We have also received complaints about fake documents being submitted by teachers for transfers. We have decided to verify and cross-verify the applications and documents submitted by teachers. If they are found fake, strict action will be initiated against the teachers.”

The commissioner said, “Teachers aspiring for transfers and those faking the documents are not aware that the department has all the relevant data about them, retrieved from the students’ achievement tracking system. If details mismatch with the uploaded data or documents, such candidates will face action.”

A senior official of the department of said, “In one of the cases, a candidate submitted a fake document claiming her husband is working in a central government organisation in Bengaluru. In reality, her husband is working in a private organisation.”

Similarly, teachers are found to have submitted fake medical certificates for severe ailments. “The department will get them verified with authorities concerned or expert doctors,” the official said.