Raid in Gujarat school.

DNA; AHMEDABAD; April 22, 2011,

A raid was conducted at a city-based school, The Democratic Higher Secondary School, on Wednesday. A team of seven education inspectors from Gandhinagar, under the instruction of CV Som, the commissioner of schools, raided the school after receiving several complaints against the grant-in-aid institution.

There was a complaint against the teachers and the administrative staff of the school for being absent and yet being paid.

Speaking to DNA, an RTI activist Shailesh Patel said, "The recruitment of few teachers was illegal and in spite of being absent from the school they still used to get paid. Also, illegal activities such as dummy students and fake leaving certificates were found out." Patel had filed an RTI application against the school and teachers, questioning, among other things, their qualifications.

Another source, requesting anonymity, said Dhiraj Desai, a head clerk on the rolls of the school hadn't come to the school for eight years and yet got paid. "Also, the school had appointed a teacher named Dilip Jadhav, who used to stammer while speaking. This raises a huge question on the recruitment process of the school and the quality of teachers as well as the education provided," added the source.

Several parents had objected to the scholarship amount given by the government to the SC/ST students. The amount never reaches the deserving candidates and instead goes into the management's pocket.

One parent complained that the school showed registration of more students than the actual number to get more grants from the government.

The managing trustee of the school, Narendra Jhala and his wife Jyotsna, were both involved in misusing the grants. In fact, Jyotsna allegedly became a teacher by producing bogus certificates, said the sources.

During the raid, the district education officer, Ahmedabad rural, MI Joshi also accompanied the team of inspectors. "We cannot reveal the name of the complainant nor any information," he said.

Joshi added that the team took videos of the school premises. It also recorded the statements of the students and teachers.

Several documents pertaining to attendance of teachers andstudents have been seized from the school which will be submitted to the commissioner of schools, he added.

The school authorities were unavailable for comment.