LUCKNOW: After social media reports about an irregularity committed by a full-time science teacher working in Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya (KGBV) Baghpat, wherein, she had allegedly been on rolls of 25 KGBVs simultaneously and drawing salaries from every branch, Uttar Pradesh government has ordered a high-level probe into the fraud here on Friday.
As per the initial reports, the teacher was posted at KGBV, Baghpat, but was on rolls of school’s branches in over two dozen other districts and had drawn around Rs 1 crore as salaries during the last 13 months till February 2020.
However, State Basic Education Minister Dr. Satish Dwivedi contradicted the claim saying that prima facie it seemed to be a case of impersonation. “Teacher named Anamika Shukla was posted at a KGBV in Baghpat and had been absent from teaching for quite some time. As a result, her salary was stopped. In the meantime, this fraud surfaced. Initial probe has shown that using her documents and personal records, other teachers were working at KGVBs in Aligarh, Amethi, Saharanpur, and Ambedkarnagar,” said the minister.
He said that so far the teacher fraudulently working in Aligarh had drawn Rs 93530, the one in Amethi had drawn Rs 68200, the teacher working in her place in Saharanpur had drawn Rs 1,16,300 and the one in Ambedkarnagar had drawn Rs 2,31,332 as remuneration.
In fact, KGBV is a residential school providing educational facility to girls coming from weaker sections of the society, and the teachers at KGBVs are appointed on a contractual basis on a remuneration of Rs 30,000 per month.
So far, the teachers used to mark their attendance on the register where chances of impersonation used to be high. “Now there is real-time digital monitoring of the teachers’ attendance on Prerna App where the teachers have to mark their presence on reaching the school daily,” said Dwivedi adding that still such an incident had happened which needed a thorough probe.
He added that fraud pulled off at KGVBs involving Anamika Shukla came to fore when the database of teachers was being digitised and was being uploaded on Manav Sampada portal for records.
The minister said that on the basis of prima facie facts, the state government was proceeding to lodge FIR not only against the impersonators but also Shukla whose documents were used by others to get a job at KGBVs in those districts.
“Moreover, the entire episode may have the role of some officials as well. Strictest action will be taken against those found to have had a role in the fraud. I have also ordered a probe into the records of the teachers of all 746 KGVBs across the state,” said Dwivedi.
As per the sources, Shukla belonged to Mainpuri district in central UP and was on rolls as a science teacher at Baghpat KGVB for over a year. While Shukla could not be contacted despite repeated efforts, official sources in basic education department claimed that the inquiry would revolve around the fact that how could a teacher mark her presence at multiple schools even when the teaching staff of primary and basic education has to mark the attendance online on Prerna portal daily on reaching the school.
According to Director General of school education, Vijay Kiran Anand, he had received such a complaint against the teacher in March, this year but then the inquiry could not be conducted as her records were not accessible due to lockdown. He claimed that he had reminded the officials concerned of the department
on May 26 about the issue and a probe was already on into it.