BERHAMPUR: The inordinate delay in the identification of in-service teachers serving on fake certificates by the district administration has drawn flak from many quarters. Add to it the vacancies in posts of primary teachers that is affecting students in the schools of the district.
Speaking to mediapersons, social worker Samarjit Mohanty said he had appealed to the Orissa High Court to direct the School and Mass Education department to speed up the process of detecting fake teachers but the process had been going on at a snail’s pace.
“In 2019, several complaints against teachers serving on fake certificates were put forth in front of the district education office but no action has yet been taken. Minister of State for School and Mass Education Samir Ranjan Dash had earlier announced that in-service teachers serving on fake certificates would be asked to give their salaries back. But if this whole detection process has been taking so long, action against the accused teachers would take even longer,” Mohanty alleged.
Contacted, district education office sources said the Mass Education department is being apprised of the issue on a regular basis. Following verification, as many as 47 teachers who were working on fake certificates, were disengaged from service in the last four years.
“It is being alleged that around 441 teachers are currently serving with fake certificates and FIR against 96 of them has been lodged in different police stations of the district. Most of the fake certificates are reportedly being issued by Bangalore university in Karnataka, Acharya Nagarjuna university, Andhra university and Gulbarga university,” sources said adding, the DEO in Ganjam has in writing requested the said universities to verify the authenticity of the certificates issued by them.
Meanwhile, president of the Ganjam unit of All India Forward block Bibhudendra Padhy alleged that the issue was just the tip of the iceberg. “Around 70 fake teachers have been detected in Chikiti block alone since the last two years. I had also submitted details of such teachers to the district education office with copies to the chief minister and Ganjam collector but the authorities claim no fake teachers have been detected from the block,” he further alleged.
These teachers are reportedly getting hefty paychecks with the support of Education department authorities, he said further demanding an impartial inquiry into the matter.DEO Binita Senapati was meanwhile unavailable to comment on the matter.