COIMBATORE: The Chief Educational Officer (CEO) of Chennai district, T Rajendran, was suspended on charges of corruption on Friday. The decision was taken after the official was unable to show accounts for around 175 tonnes of undistributed Samacheer Kalvi books while he was the CEO of Coimbatore district.
The AIADMK government, after taking charge in 2011, had moved the HC seeking to discontinue the scheme claiming that the books had certain portions praising the DMK regime.
However, the HC and later the Supreme Court ordered the implementation of Samacheer Kalvi with a few corrections. However, by that time the TN Textbook Corporation had printed books, but did not distribute the same following the court’s direction.
In 2011, Rajendran, who was then the CEO of Coimbatore district, ordered the undistributed books to be stored at a private school in Puliakulam. Later, when the school management wanted possession of the rooms, Rajendran ordered the books to be moved to the Ondiputhur Government Boys HSS. In 2012, Rajendran was transferred to Chennai.
In 2013, the TN Newsprint and Papers Limited ordered the School Education Department to return all the undistributed books. It was then that the present Coimbatore CEO found that of the 350 tonnes of undistributed books, more than half were missing.
According to sources, the CEO and a few other officials in the school education department might have defrauded the government. When questioned, Rajendran was unable to produce proper records, following which he was suspended until further notice.
On suspicion, a junior assistant, Saravanakumar, was transferred to a government school in Chinna Thadagam. Meanwhile, Saravanakumar claimed that he had received threats not to reveal the names of the officials involved in the cover-up.