Prayagraj: Taking a serious note of use of one certificate for the appointment of 10 teachers, Allahabad high court has directed the STF to verify appointment letters and educational records of all teachers posted in govt basic schools in Uttar Pradesh.Passing the order on Oct 16, Justice Vinod Diwakar directed all teachers of Classes 1 to 8 to submit their academic certificates and appointment orders to their respective Basic Shiksha Adhikari offices within a week of receiving formal notification. The bench warned that any negligence, procedural delay, or failure to enforce the directive would result in personal liability for the responsible education officials.The court directed the STF to evolve a mechanism for verification of documents, if necessary with the assistance of SSP or police commissioner concerned.The bench directed that all teachers will also file notarized affidavits furnishing details of their immediate relatives, whether serving or retired, who have held office in the UP education department at the level of BSA and above.The court said the director of education, UP, will supervise the exercise undertaken by the BSA and may nominate an officer for day-to-day supervision. Likewise, ADG STF will supervise the verification and investigation and may nominate an officer for day-to-day supervision.The court directed to put up this case as fresh on November 4 for reporting compliance for further consideration.The court observed, “It is a matter of common knowledge that a large number of primary schools have been closed down, principally on account of a shortfall in the number of students. That shortfall is not attributable to a want of resources but to the deteriorating quality of the education imparted and to the inadequate performance of the teachers. Nor is it attributable to appointments made in recent years alone, it is traceable to the practice, prevailing over the last two decades, of appointments secured by fraudulent means”.The court observed: If the condition of primary schools has still not improved, one of the principal reasons may well be the quality of the teachers and the fact that teachers in govt service are not discharging their duties with the seriousness and sincerity.”In the present case, during the course of hearing of a writ petition filed by a teacher – Kusumlata, the additional superintendent of police, STF, Lucknow following the previous direction of the court submitted a report revealing that the petitioner obtained employment fraudulently by using educational document of one Kusumlata Srivastava, who is already serving as assistant teacher in Gorakhpur.Besides, an STF investigation also revealed that a large number of teachers in the state have obtained employment on the basis of forged documents or by using the documents of another person.
