Fee scam: Education Department to knock VAC door

Two months after the Perunthalaivar Kamaraj Financial Assistance Scheme scam came to light, the Higher Education Department has decided to lodge a complaint with the Vigilance and Anti-corruption (VAC). 

The scam came to light after Parents Students Welfare Association president V Balasubramain had given a complaint to the director of the Education Department.

“We will be lodging a complaint within a day,” said authorities.

Preliminary inquiry showed that 32 people who were not beneficiaries received the financial assistance amounting to `22 lakh. The fraud was committed after the mode of payment was shifted to Electronic Clearance system in 2010. Since then, the department had been crediting the amount to the beneficiary’s bank  account. However, some payments have been made to non-students by assigning the Centac serial number to the fake beneficiary, sources said.

The number of cases that had come to light could only be the tip of the iceberg as the number of such misappropriation is not really known.

As the banks were not revealing the identity of the fake beneficiary whose account is maintained by the bank, the inquiry by the department could not proceeded further, sources said.

The department, therefore, forwarded the findings to the then Chief Secretary M Sathiyavathy who referred the matter to CID wing of the police. However, after getting an opinion from the Director of Prosecution, CID returned the matter stating that it was not under their jurisdiction and it fell under VAC. The Home Department then directed the director to lodge a complaint with the VAC .

Such a scam could not have been committed without the connivance of department personnel  and it needs to be thoroughly probed,  said Balasubramain. The VAC is already burdened with several cases. Only a judicial inquiry under a retired judge or a CBI probe would bring the culprits to the book, he added, and urged the government to order such an inquiry.

The scam also brings to fore another question on what happened to the genuine beneficiary who has been affected by the scam.