Fake education board racket: ‘They put ads in local dailies to target schools for affiliation’

Delhi Police have arrested six persons for allegedly running a fake education board, which issued thousands of fake school certificates and college degrees that helped young men and women get jobs

The ‘Board of Higher Education, Delhi’ busted by Delhi Police published advertisements in vernacular dailies with limited circulation to reach their target schools needing affiliation but also ensuring they do not attract too much attention.

The Delhi Police busted a fake education board running in the name of Board of Higher Secondary Education Delhi, on Friday. (HT Photo)

“A mainline daily could have exposed the fraud much earlier so they ensured that advertisements were only published in local languages such as Marathi in Maharashtra or Kannada in Karnataka. They targeted schools in smaller towns or villages in different states, which failed to meet the minimum norms to obtain affiliation from their state or central boards. The link to the website was provided in these advertisements,” said Nupur Prasad, deputy commissioner of police (Shahdara).

The contacts were all available on the websites and depending on the need such as the number of classes a school was running, the premium was fixed. This would range between Rs10,000 and Rs 51, 000 in UP and Bihar and would run up to Rs. 2.5 lakh in states such as Punjab, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Karnataka.

In all, 300 schools were said to have obtained affiliation. Asked if the schools were aware of the racket, Prasad said this was being probed. But he said schools in small villages sometimes do not bother to verify .

On the fate of schools and their students, Prasad said the police would write to all these schools once their list is ready. “We will also write to the education board or departments of these schools telling them that the affiliation is not genuine,” said Prasad.