Allahabad HC tells all UP government school teachers to get their appointment letter and education documents verified. Here’s why | Today’s news

The Allahabad High Court has directed a Special Task Force (STF) to verify the appointment letters and educational records of all teachers posted in government primary schools in Uttar Pradesh teaching I to VIII students.

Under the Live Law, Justice Vinod Diwakar directed the teachers of classes 1 to 8 to provide legible copies of their appointment letters and educational documents to the concerned Basic Shiksha Adhikari (BSA) within a week of receiving the notice issued by the BSA office.

These documents include those related to High School, High School, Matriculation, B.Ed./BTC (D.El.Ed., B.El.Ed. etc.), TET/CTET.

The Allahabad High Court issued the order on October 16.

Why Allahabad HC take this event?

The order was issued after the court heard that a large number of teachers in Uttar Pradesh had obtained employment on the basis of forged documents or with the help of another person’s documents.

The matter came to light when one Kusumlata filed a plea in court seeking a direction to the District Director of Elementary Education, Sant Kabir Nagar, to approve her appointment as an assistant teacher and release her salary.

According to Live Law, the woman claimed that she was appointed in Siddharth Nagar district on January 2, 2006 and was promoted on July 12, 2010.

However, she was suspended on 11 February 2021 due to allegations that she used forged documents to secure her appointment.

According to the public prosecutor, the investigation launched against her found that she had used forged educational documents belonging to another teacher, Kusumlat Srivastava, who is posted at a school in Gorakhpur district, the report added.

On October 8, the court directed the petitioner to appear before the Additional Superintendent of Police, Special Task Force (STF) Lucknow on October 12 and 13 along with all her documents and claims.

The court also ordered the STF to verify the validity and authenticity of the documents within a week and submit a report to the court.

However, the petitioner did not appear before the STF on any of the dates, and she also avoided submitting documents about her education for verification.

Her attorney claimed at a previous meeting that she had recently undergone surgery and was on bed rest. However, no one appeared on her behalf during the hearing of the matter.

“10 or more jobs obtained based on a single set of documents”

According to the report, the bench was also informed that the investigation by the Special Task Force (STF) even revealed that a large number of teachers in the state got employment by forging documents.

The bench was further informed that in several cases, 10 or more persons got employment on the basis of a single set of educational documents.

The bench referred to an earlier order passed by the coordination committee where directions were issued to take action against teachers who secured appointments by defrauding the authorities, including cancellation of appointments and recovery of salary whenever possible.

In this case, the court also ordered disciplinary and criminal proceedings against officials found to have colluded, facilitated or willfully ignored these fraudulent appointments.

Taking into account the state of the matter, the court ordered a nationwide investigation.

Now what do UP government school teachers have to do?

While the teachers have to submit legible copies of appointment letters and educational documents, they have also been directed to file notarized affidavits disclosing details of specific direct relatives, either serving or retired, who held office in the Uttar Pradesh Education Department at the BSA level and above.

Listed relatives include spouses, parents, children, brothers-in-law, brothers-in-law, and first cousins. Teachers without these relatives must submit an undertaking to this effect.

The Supreme Court directed the BSA to issue directions to school principals to ensure compliance. Their offices have to prepare an excel sheet in which each teacher’s name, date of appointment, qualification, minimum qualification required at the relevant time and marks as per relevant gazette notification will be recorded.

Documents and compiled information must be forwarded to the appropriate STF.

The director of education will oversee the exercise, while the additional director general of police, STF, will oversee verification and investigation, according to the Live Act.

The court also warned that any “laxity or dereliction of duty” by the police officers concerned will be taken seriously and they may be held personally liable.

The court also linked fraudulent appointments to the deteriorating quality of primary education, noting that the closure of many primary schools due to declining enrollments was not simply due to a lack of resources.

“A teacher should always keep in mind that knowledge of the subject at the level being taught is not the only quality of a good teacher,” the court said.

She emphasized the importance of pedagogical skills, regular attendance, patience and fairness towards children.

She stated that a large number of primary schools were closed, mainly due to a lack of pupils.

“This shortage is not due to a lack of resources, but to the deteriorating quality of education provided and the lack of performance of teachers,” he noted.

The matter was listed for November 4.