200 face action over fake degrees

Teachers in Bihar obtained jobs by submitting bogus certificates

Authorities in Bihar have registered cases against more than 200 schoolteachers for getting jobs by submitting fake degrees and certificates.

The cases were registered by the state vigilance bureau (SVB) which is probing the matter after being directed by the Patna High Court.

The action comes after a grace period given by the Patna High Court to such teachers to resign on their own expired recently. Reports last year said more than 2,000 teachers resigned to escape severe punitive action in the light of order but authorities say the number could be around 40,000.

“We have lodged cases against over 200 teachers so far after the documents they submitted at the time of appointment were discovered to be fake during the course of investigation,” senior SBV official Sudhir Kumar told the media yesterday.

The development has caused panic among hundreds of teachers who got jobs by allegedly submitting doctored degrees. As per an official report, more than 400,000 teachers were appointed on contractual basis in between 2006 and 2015 during the Nitish Kumar government but as it now turns out, many of them procured fake degrees and certificates to land the jobs.

The matter is being probed by the vigilance department but the pace of investigation has drawn flak from the court.

In June last year, the court had directed the vigilance department to investigate into the appointment of some 40,000 teachers who allegedly used fake degrees and certificates to get jobs in the government primary and middle schools, and submit the probe report within four weeks.

Eligibility test

The teachers were absorbed into the government jobs during the massive recruitment drive launched by the Nitish Kumar government soon after it came to power in November 2005. More than 400,000 teachers were appointed on contractual basis during the massive drive but now it has been proved the recruitment excise was full of flaws. This became further clear when a huge number of such teachers failed the eligibility test conducted by the government, yet continued in their jobs.

Critics say the government failure to follow certain guidelines in matters of teachers’ recruitment has virtually destroyed the primary and secondary education in the state. This was amply reflected during the recent annual matriculation examinations when large numbers of parents and guardians were seen climbing up the walls of a multistorey examination centre in Bihar and supplying cheat sheets to their children, drawing global condemnation.