State appoints IAS-headed SIT to probe teacher recruitment scam

Maharashtra forms a special team to probe teacher recruitment fraud since 2012, following a scam uncovering fake staff in schools. Over 400 officials strike.

Mumbai: The Maharashtra government on Thursday formed a special investigation team (SIT) to investigate the alleged teacher recruitment fraud in all aided and partially aided schools across the state.

The SIT has also been asked to find out the discrepancies in the existing procedure of approving teaching and non-teaching staff. (HT Photo for representation)

Pune divisional commissioner Chandrakant Pulkundwar will head the three-member team. Manoj Sharma, inspector general of police (law and order), and Harun Attar, joint director of the education directorate, are the other members.

The SIT has been tasked with investigating all teacher recruitments conducted since 2012, according to a government resolution (GR) issued by the state school education department on Thursday. The team has been asked to submit its report in the next three months, stated the order signed by the department’s principal secretary, Ranjit Singh Deol.

The recruitment fraud, also known as the Shalarth ID scam, first surfaced in Nagpur, where 580 fake teachers and non-teaching staff were found to have been recruited in 12 government-aided schools by allegedly using fake signatures and documents. Senior school education department officials are allegedly involved in the fraud. After the Nagpur fraud came to light, similar complaints were filed in other parts of the state as well.

The matter was discussed in the state assembly during the monsoon session of the state legislature, with state school education minister Dada Bhuse assuring that an investigation would be launched.

According to the terms of reference mentioned in the GR, the SIT will examine the transfers of teachers and non-teaching staff “from non-grant-in-aid positions to grant-in-aid positions in all the aided and partially aided primary or secondary or higher secondary schools across all the divisional offices in the state.”

The SIT has also been asked to find out the discrepancies in the existing procedure of approving teaching and non-teaching staff, and suggest reforms. “The special investigation team should investigate all the above-mentioned issues for the period from 2012 to the present and submit its report to the government within three months,” the GR added.

Govt officers announce strike

Meanwhile, more than 400 senior officers from the state’s school education department have launched an indefinite strike starting Friday, alleging harassment and unfair treatment by investigative agencies over issues related to Shalarth IDs and other school recognition matters.

Members of the All Maharashtra Education Service Gazetted Officers Association claimed they were being unfairly targeted and that action was being taken against them in matters unrelated to their responsibilities. In some cases, they said that arrests and disciplinary actions were carried out without any prior inquiry or show-cause notice.

According to the government officers, three deputy directors and two education officers were arrested without proper procedures and later suspended, even though they were cooperating with the investigation. No criminal charges have been proven, yet suspensions have been imposed, leading to a serious drop in morale across the department, they said.

“This kind of treatment of honest officers is demoralising and is affecting day-to-day functioning. The government has a duty to protect its honest staff. Arrests without inquiry and illegal suspensions must stop,” the association said in a statement.