UP woman teacher 'teaches' at 25 schools simultaneously; takes Rs 1 crore as annual salary before being found out

Lucknow, June 5

A woman teacher in UP allegedly worked in 25 schools for months and managed to withdraw a salary of Rs 1 crore.

She was a full-time science teacher at Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya (KGBV), Rae Bareli, and was found working simultaneously in multiple schools in Ambedkar Nagar, Baghpat, Aligarh, Saharanpur and Prayagraj districts.

The matter came to light when a database of teachers was being created.

The digital database of teachers on the Manav Sampada portal required teachers' personal records, date of joining and promotion.

Once the records were uploaded, it was found that she, with the same personal details, had been listed on 25 schools.

Director General of School Education, Vijay Kiran Anand, said a probe is under way to ascertain the facts about thie teacher who has gone incommunicado.

"It is surprising that the teacher was able to do this despite real-time monitoring of teachers' attendance in UP primary schools.

"How can a teacher mark her presence at several places even when they are supposed to mark their attendance online on the Prerna portal? It needs a thorough probe," said the official who received a complaint about the teacher in March.

According to the records in all schools, she was on the rolls of these schools for over a year.

KGBV is a residential school for girls from weaker sections and teachers are appointed on contract. They are paid around Rs 30,000 a month. Each block in a district has one Kasturba Gandhi School.

She has allegedly taken home Rs 1 crore as salary from these schools over 13 months till February 2020.

A native of Mainpuri, she was last found working in Rae Bareli's KGBV till February, when her forgery came to light.

The basic education officer in Rae Bareli, Anand Prakash, said the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan office had issued a letter to six districts to check about her.

"Though Rae Bareli was not named in the list, we did cross-check and found the woman working at our KGBV also. A notice was issued to her but she did not report back. Her salary was immediately stopped," he said.

He said that due to the lockdown, the inquiry could not proceed but now records would be verified. It is yet to be ascertained if she was using the same bank account for salaries drawn from different schools. IANS

Nothing confirmed so far, probe on; says UP govt

Lucknow: After the reports in the media about the teacher, the Uttar Pradesh government on Friday said a probe is on and "nothing has been confirmed so far".

"Acting on media reports, the Additional Director, Basic Education, was ordered to probe the matter. Nothing has been confirmed so far. The name of a teacher has come to light, she is absconding now. It is being said that Rs 1 crore was paid as salary. This is not at all true. No such thing has been confirmed," Director General School Education Vijay Kiran Anand told PTI.

"A probe is on and if allegations are found to be true, an FIR would be lodged. The transfer of money (salary) in her bank account has also not been done. Divisional officers are investigating the matter. Strict action will be taken if any teacher is found to be working as a proxy teacher in other schools," the officer said. PTI

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