LUCKNOW The spectre of age fraud has reared its head in state government-run sports colleges, prompting the state education department to launch a vigorous campaign aimed at unveiling the perpetrators involved in state school sports competitions.
The education department has initiated an inquiry and dispatched letters to all three sports colleges, requesting detailed information about their students who participated in various state-level events. In response to these allegations of age fraud, a dedicated three-member committee has been formed to carry out a comprehensive investigation.
Addressing a joint letter to the principals of Guru Govind Singh Sports College (Lucknow), Vir Bahadur Singh Sports College (Gorakhpur), and Saifai Sports College, Bhagwati Singh, the head of Ayodhya’s Dr. Bheem Rao Ambedkar State School Sports Organisation, has called for the submission of transfer certificates, marksheets, and any relevant documents for the students who took part in the State School Hockey Championship in Gorakhpur.
Bhagwati Singh, the joint director of State Secondary Education, explained, “We have received complaints regarding age fraud occurring in state school championships held at various venues throughout Uttar Pradesh. Consequently, we have initiated an inquiry into these allegations.”
In addition to the three sports colleges, similar letters have been dispatched to the regional joint education directors of Jhansi, Varanasi, Moradabad, Gorakhpur, Meerut, and Prayagraj. The Secondary Education Directorate has also made a formal request to the Uttar Pradesh Sports Directorate, urging them to expedite the resolution of this issue.
{{/usCountry}}In addition to the three sports colleges, similar letters have been dispatched to the regional joint education directors of Jhansi, Varanasi, Moradabad, Gorakhpur, Meerut, and Prayagraj. The Secondary Education Directorate has also made a formal request to the Uttar Pradesh Sports Directorate, urging them to expedite the resolution of this issue.
{{/usCountry}}Bhagwati Singh further said, “With no state school sports meets taking place since 2019 due to the Covid pandemic, it appears that some students are resorting to age fraud in their pursuit of success in state sports meets. This is clearly unfair to the genuine students who aspire to excel in sports.”
He continued, “We have discovered students aged 17-18 competing in the under-12 and under-14 categories, which is a grave injustice to the authentic student-athletes. We have called upon all relevant authorities to provide accurate age details for their students to ensure the fair selection of teams for the national school championships.”
Coaches at the sports colleges have also confirmed the presence of age fraud during the admission process, suggesting that this issue has persisted for years. An anonymous coach from Lucknow’s Guru Gobind Singh Sports College stated, “Even during this year’s admissions, numerous overaged students secured admission in different disciplines, often with the support of influential figures.”
He went on to reveal, “Many students at government-run sports colleges obtain proxy admissions at various prominent schools across the state, with the intention of gaining recognition for those schools by winning medals in school events. There is an illicit network within the admission system, and it can be thwarted by verifying the physical attributes of many students.”
Another coach added, “In sports colleges, students are typically admitted in the 6th grade, but even after completing their 10th standard, some have managed to secure admission this year. Recently, five football players from a sports college were barred from participating in national championships due to their overage status.”
However, the acting principal of Gorakhpur’s Sports College, Alley Haider, disassociated the issue from his college, stating that it was related to students from Deoria district. “We have our own rigorous age verification system in place during the admission process in Lucknow,” he clarified. “In fact, trials for all three sports colleges are held at Guru Govind Singh Sports College, and we are not responsible for age verification in this context,” he added.