Indentifying Fake Teachers: Odisha Govt To Verify Documents In 3 Years

Bhubaneswar: Amid backlash over the delay in terminating fake teachers, the Odisha government on Monday decided to complete verification of the documents of all teachers in three years.

Letters will be shot off to authorities of universities/colleges outside the state and the education department of the concerned states for verification of certificates and testimonials. If required, special officers will move out of Odisha to expedite the process.

Those guilty will face criminal action and salary will be recovered from them.

The meeting presided over by Development Commissioner and Additional Chief Secretary Pradeep Jena also decided that Odisha School Education Programme Authority (OSEPA) Project Director would prepare a database of teachers. Board of Secondary Education and Council of Higher Secondary Education will be directed to implement Digilocker from this academic year. A letter will be sent to the IT Secretary for digitization of all certificates of BSE and CHSE, an official release said.

Notably, the School and Mass Education (SME) department had issued letters to several districts asking them to accelerate the process of identifying such teachers following Orissa High Court’s directive to the state government to terminate the services of teachers who had submitted fake certificates during recruitment in Cuttack district last year. The Directorate of Elementary Education had also furnished a list of 130 teachers alleged to have submitted fake documents or those with cases pending against them to the district education officers (DEOs), block education officers (BEOs) as well as the district project coordinators (DPCs) to investigate their credentials. TThe directorates under the SME department has also been instructed to disengage such teachers and lodge FIR against them in police stations concerned.

The meeting also decided to make issuing of NOC to CBSE schools simpler and automated while accepting applications online. In the event of information provided by these schools is found to be wrong, no NOC will be provided for three years.

Emphasis would be laid on the training of teachers and OSEPA would undertake programmes for skill development. Thirty schools in 30 districts will be identified for imparting teaching through the English medium, the release added.