Senior education officers in the Maharashtra govt have been accused of misusing a govt-run payments portal to create fake teacher IDs and siphoning funds. Fraudulent Shalarth IDs were also created for unqualified individuals, who were allegedly hired after paying a bribe of Rs 20 to 30 lakhs each to school management and education department officials. The IDs given when a teacher is recruited, are needed to access salary and other benefits. The deputy directors of education of Mumbai and Nagpur zones allegedly, between them, created thousands of fake IDs. Govt estimates the scope of the scam to be Rs 2,000-3,000 crore. Some arrests have already been madeWhat is a Shalarth ID?Former deputy director of education Ram Pawar explains, “Once there is a vacancy and the school has selected the candidate, the school issues an appointment order. The candidate then takes this appointment order to the deputy director of education of that zone, who approves it and provides the candidate with a Shalarth ID and password. This ID is used to access salary and benefits—without it, the candidate cannot be paid.” The Shalarth portal also houses financial information and personnel records for all education staffers.What is the scam?According to Ram Pawar, the authority to issue Shalarth IDs rests with the deputy director of education. Officials at the office have created bogus IDs and drawn salaries for fictitious individuals, for whom bank accounts were opened using fake credentials and fake photographs. Officials have also been accused of issuing Shalarth IDs and hiring unqualified people for posts of teachers and headmasters for a bribe. What were the loopholes exploited by govt staff?Scope for manipulation is minimal in govt-run schools as employment records are available for scrutiny within the administration and due to the regulations which staff need to follow. But govt oversight of the records of aided schools is limited. This allowed those managing the portal to appoint unqualified individuals and even create fake posts and withdraw salaries in their name.Other weaknesses in the systemMisuse of the portal has been reported across the state. In Nagpur, unqualified teachers, headmasters, and other staff were accused of holding fake Shalarth IDs that were obtained after paying bribes to school management and education department staffers. Deputy director of education for Nagpur, Ulhas Narad, has been arrested. In many cases, teachers and other school staff helped govt officers to create fake IDs and bank accounts for a share of the loot. Also, govt staff demanded bribes to give eligible teachers backdated dues and increments after promotion (see report alongside).What is the extent of the scam?On July 18, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis announced in the state assembly that the Shalarth ID scam could amount to Rs 2,000-3,000 crore. He announced the formation of a Special Investigation Team to probe the ID scam. Dada Bhuse, the state school education minister, has meantime suspended the Mumbai deputy director, Sandeep Sangave. Checks needed in the systemFormer deputy director Ram Pawar says, “An earnest effort must be made to examine records. The process cannot be top-down. Whatever the upper management decides, the onus must be on field officers who need to conduct rigorous checks.”
