Gondia teacher hiring scam masterminds being protected: MLC Ganar

Nagpur: A teacher hiring scandal in Gondia has rocked the education department but some academics and public representatives say the masterminds are being “protected”. While a police complaint has been filed, MLC (teachers constituency) Nago Ganar alleged that cops are mostly hauling up the “victims”.
Teachers hired in aided schools get their salary from government coffers along with almost all benefits which a state government employee gets.Some unscrupulous school trustees are alleged to have charged bribes for recruiting teachers.
Ganar said, “Around Rs25 to 30 lakh per teacher was taken by a nexus which involves a long chain that goes from the school trustee to state education department officials. In Gondia, this scam has been going on since 2012 and so far we have succeeded in identifying many cases. I have raised this issue in the legislature too and recently 52 such appointments were cancelled.”
The shelling out of so much money upfront for a teacher’s job may not make sense for many, but according to Ganar, considering the pay scales it “pays off” for new recruits in the long run. Currently, senior teachers make well over Rs12 lakh per annum, and the hike keeps happening as per government policies.
The legislator said, “The cops in Gondia had received a complaint about teachers being hired by school trustees, which also requires clearance letters from education officials. The cops found out that the approval letters were fake, as the undersigned was no more working there. But since the teachers had been hired and started drawing salaries, it’s clear that there is a group in the education department which is executing all this fraud.”
According to Ganar, cops are taking action against teachers saying they paid bribes but not filing FIRs against those who were involved in executing this entire thing. “In fact such teacher hiring scams exist in every district but both the education department and cops are least interested. Else, even in a small threatening case they will file FIRs. I firmly believe that the entire machinery is involved in the nexus, due to which people are reluctant to act,” said Ganar.