Pune school forges education officer’s sign to obtain affiliation extension from CBSE

The Academic Heights Public School forged the signature of Mushtaq Shaikh, Sindhudurg district education officer

Amid the action being taken against bogus schools by the school education department, it has come to light that the ‘Academic Heights Public School’ at Chikhali in Pimpri-Chinchwad forged the signature of an education officer to obtain extension of affiliation from the CBSE. The Academic Heights Public School forged the signature of Mushtaq Shaikh, Sindhudurg district education officer. The matter is being investigated and action will be taken against the said school.

Academic Heights Public School at Chikhali in Pimpri-Chinchwad forged the signature of an education officer to obtain extension of affiliation from the CBSE (REPRESENTATIVE IMAGE)

According to information shared by the school education department, Shaikh worked as primary education officer in the Pune Zilla Parishad from August 12, 2013 to July 18, 2017 after which he was transferred as inspector of education, Mumbai North, and worked in Mumbai from 2017 to 2021. Currently, he is working as secondary education officer in Sindhudurg district. The department found that Academic Heights Public School had forged Shaikh’s signature while he was working in another district.

According to the CBSE Board, it is mandatory for schools to upload the necessary documents on their website. Accordingly, Academic Heights Public School uploaded various documents on its website. It was found that Shaikh’s signature appeared on sample number 2 of these documents. Further, the sample was dated May 7, 2019 at which point of time, Shaikh was working in Mumbai. It was mentioned that the principal and the secretary of the Academic Heights Public School, Jyotika Malkani and Mukesh Tilvani, respectively, uploaded the relevant documents. Hence, Shaikh submitted a written complaint to the Pune Zilla Parishad in this regard. The investigation found that Shaikh’s signature had been forged by the school.

Shaikh said, “It was found that the Academy Heights Public School, Chikhli, obtained an extension of affiliation from the CBSE by forging my signature at a time I was not working in the Pune Zilla Parishad. Therefore, a letter was submitted to the chief executive officer (CEO) of the Pune Zilla Parishad to inquire and take appropriate action in this regard. Accordingly, an inquiry is being conducted by the education department of the Zilla Parishad.”

Ramesh Chavan, deputy education officer, Pune Zilla Parishad, said, “According to the complaint lodged by Shaikh, the school has been investigated. It was found that the school used fake signature certificates. The school has also accepted this and now, further action is being taken by the education department.”