The Education Minister of Uttarakhand, Arvind Pandey, has said the education department officials should check the authenticity of those documents which are with the department and should not ask teachers to submit the documents now. He also warned of punitive action if the documents submitted by teachers are leaked out from the office.
The education department has started a process to check the documents submitted by teachers of the government schools. Following the disclosure that many candidates with fake degrees have managed to become teachers in Uttarakhand, the education minister had recommended a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) inquiry on the issue. Following the order of the minister the department also started a massive drive to check the authenticity of the documents of teachers.
Interestingly the clerks deployed at block education offices have asked the teachers to submit copies of their documents. It is learnt that many teachers with suspected documents have also started pestering the babus to return these documents to them. The clerks and other officials are allegedly asking bribes from these teachers. Taking cognizance of these complaints the minister asked the secondary and primary education director to ensure that only those documents submitted by the teachers at the time of getting jobs are checked and no document should be given from the offices. The Minister told The Pioneer that he has requested for a vigilance inquiry on the issue of fake documents so that a prompt action against the culprits is taken. On the issue of a steep cut in the budget of Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) and delay in arrival of funds from union government, Pandey said that he will take up the issue with the union HRD minister in his forthcoming meeting. He said that the he has asked the officers of the department that the files of issues pertaining to the problems of teachers and other staff members should be cleared with in a time frame of three days. Pandey said that employees retaining their posts for many years in the offices like education directorate, secretariat and other head offices would be shunted out.
The department plans to send these employees to district education offices. Allaying the fears of private schools, the minister clearly said that he is not against them but would ensure that the re-admission fees, caution money and unnecessary harassment of parents is prevented. Pandey said that the government has decided to make National Council of Education Research and Training (NCERT) books compulsory for all the schools of state from next session. In an important disclosure, the minister said that he is planning to ensure that teachers strictly follow a monthly plan of teaching. He said that the department would soon start workshops and extensive training sessions for the teachers and officers so that quality of education in Government schools is improved.