RAIPUR: In Chhattisgarh’s School Education Department, apparent bureaucratic negligence and forgery expose how astonishingly easy it is to hoodwink the state apparatus.
From counterfeit transfer lists carrying forged seals of the Secretariat to fabricated earlier public circulars declaring extended school holidays, bogus official orders are not merely circulating—they are slipping through official scrutiny and ironically being enforced on the ground.
The depth of the malaise was laid bare with a transfer order involving 19 teachers and administrative staff. A cartel manufactured a counterfeit transfer order as official departmental, bearing forged signatures attributed to Under Secretary RP Verma and bogus seals.
The forged document orchestrated lucrative transfers to coveted postings for teachers, lecturers, headmasters, and physical education instructors across 15 districts.
What is most alarming is not just the audacity of the counterfeiters, but the complete collapse of institutional vetting: District Education Officers (DEOs) across 15 districts failed to detect the fraud, and several transferred employees reported to their new postings and assumed charge before the Directorate of Public Instruction (DPI) finally awoke to the ruse.
Stunned by the fallout, the DPI issued a 3-day ultimatum to 15 DEOs, seeking explanations on how such blatant forgeries bypassed field verification.
The vulnerability of the administration extends well beyond corrupt transfer postings. Circulars mimicking the DPI—such as fabricated orders citing severe heatwaves to prematurely extend summer vacations and postpone the commencement of new academic sessions—frequently flood WhatsApp groups and administrative channels. Political commentators questioned that is the line between authentic governance and viral forgery has virtually vanished?
Lashing out at the apathy, Virendra Dubey, state president of the School Teachers Union, remarked, “The babus within the system are never held accountable when these signed and bogus orders surface. Public faith is eroding rapidly in the face of the DPI’s dismal work culture. Why are these fake circulars emerging with such blatant impunity now? The sheer incompetence and irresponsibility of DPI officials are tarnishing the image of both the education minister and the state government.”
When this newspaper reached out to Directorate of Public Instruction (DPI) Director Rituraj Raghuvanshi to seek his responses regarding these assumed vulnerabilities and the unchecked circulation of fraudulent directives, the queries were met with silence.
Cybercrime and administrative experts point out that the unchecked proliferation of these counterfeit orders stems from procedural lethargy.