The education department has filed criminal cases against five school education officers in Nagpur for their role in a scam involving fake staff in government-aided schools. These officers allegedly approved bogus teachers and non-teaching staff to draw salaries, causing a major loss to the state.
As per the initial probe, 12 schools in Nagpur listed 580 fake employees on the government’s ‘Shalarth’ portal. Since 2019, salaries were paid in their names, leading to a loss of over ₹100 crore. The department is now checking if similar scams have taken place in other districts.
According to a report by an English daily, “The education and officers at the deputy director level, in connivance with school managements, fraudulently registered the names of these teachers and non-teaching staff members on the portal and have been drawing salaries from the government for the last six years.”
“They generated the login ID and password of the education directorate and enrolled the teachers in the 12 schools. The fraud came to light when new officers took over and refused to be part of the fraud. The preliminary enquiry report has been submitted to the education commissioner on March 7 for further action.”
Following the preliminary report, the state government has set up a committee to investigate the matter further and suggest action as per departmental rules. Based on the initial findings, the school education department has recommended criminal action against five officers and recovery of the embezzled amount. Some schools have already returned the money taken through fake staff salaries. Action is also expected against the school managements involved in the scam.
“We have received the report from the director, and action has been proposed against the officials involved,” said Ranjit Singh Deol, principal secretary of the school education department. “The school education minister is expected to take a call on it in the next few days. It is a huge scam, and we have taken serious note of it.” Deol added that the exact amount of the financial loss is still unclear at this stage.
Another official from the education department told the National English daily that strict action is being pushed to set an example. “If the money is not recovered and action is not taken against the offenders, the department could face strictures from the courts, where several cases related to government aid are pending,” he said. He also pointed out that the government pays salaries to staff in 5,844 aided schools across the state.
The officer also revealed that some of the schools involved were linked to political leaders from Nagpur. “There are also a few cases in Solapur and other districts that have come to light, and the department has now asked district-level officers to review them,” he said. In certain instances, funds were released to schools even before they officially received government-aided status.