Flagging fraudulent appointments and declining teaching standards as key reasons for the closure of government primary schools in Uttar Pradesh, the Allahabad high court directed all government school teachers of Classes 1 to 8 to submit their educational documents and appointment letters for extensive verification by the UP Special Task Force.
The court also made it mandatory for teachers to file notarised affidavits disclosing details of their immediate relatives, serving or retired, who have held posts at the level of BSA or above in the education department. Teachers who have no such relatives must submit an undertaking to that effect. The directions came while hearing a petition filed by Kusumlata. The court has asked the director of education to supervise the exercise undertaken by BSAs and the additional director general of police, STF, to oversee the verification and investigation. Any laxity or dereliction by the officers concerned would be viewed seriously, it warned.
The court was also informed that the petitioner had failed to appear before the STF on October 12 and 13 for verification of her educational qualifications.
The petitioner allegedly secured employment fraudulently by using the educational documents of another woman, Kusumlata Srivastava, who is serving as an assistant teacher at a composite primary school in Baraipar, Kodipur in Gorakhpur district, according to instructions furnished by the STF’s Lucknow office.
In some cases, 10 or more people allegedly obtained employment against a single set of educational documents, it noted. The court observed that the investigation brought to light instances of a large number of teachers securing appointments using forged educational documents or certificates belonging to other persons. The court emphasised that effective teaching requires not just subject knowledge but also pedagogical ability, regular attendance, attention to students, patience and fairness, particularly towards children from disadvantaged backgrounds and first-generation learners.
Linking the issue to the broader crisis in government primary education, the bench observed that the closure of several primary schools due to a shortfall in student enrolment could not be attributed merely to inadequate resources.
The deteriorating quality of education and inadequate performance of teachers were also significant factors, the court said, adding that the problem of fraudulent appointments dated back nearly two decades.
