Probe on against 28 education officers for filing false documents

The Indian Express: Pune: Sunday, 02 August 2015.

The education commissioner is conducting an inquiry against 28 education officers who had allegedly submitted false documents to get their jobs.

“The final report will be submitted by the commissioner to the government soon and action against the faulty education officers will be taken by the government,” said Education Commissioner Purushottam Bhapkar.

“A person had filed a complaint and I inquired into the matter. There are 28 members who have, as per the complaint, produced false non-creamy layer certificates, to get their present jobs. We asked all of them to resubmit their documents and 20 have resubmitted. Eight will also be submitting in the coming week,” said Bhapkar. “Once we get all relevant documents, we will submit our report to the government, who will then take necessary action against the erring officers,” he added.

At least 32 persons who joined in 2013 as education officers in the state had submitted false documents to get the job, said the complaint filed by D K Gunjal. The information was allegedly revealed in the RTI application filed by Gunjal, another candidate who could not get the job. He also filed a writ petition against the government with the Bombay High Court on the same issue on July 10.

“The advertisement for the post of 71 education officers,who are class-1 officials, appeared in 2010. Nearly 280 applicants were called in for interviews, out of which 71 candidates were finalised by the commission and sent to the education department. But I realised that many candidates later got the job because they showed non-creamy layer certificates. This prompted me to file the RTIs and get information,” said Gunjal.

According to a notification by the Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC), any candidate with BEd and more than seven years of experience in the government sector could apply for the direct entry scheme.

“Most of the people who applied were in the creamy layer. Many of them submitted false affidavits. The annual income of the family should be below Rs 4.5 lakh to get non-creamy layer certificate. But many have not shown their wife’s income and shown only their income and got the certificate. Then there are some who have shown their father’s income certificate. There are many discrepancies and all these appointments need to be scrutinised again as many deserving candidates are not getting a chance,” said Gunjal.

He has written to the secretary of education and education department to enquire into the matter. While a letter has been written by the deputy secretary to the education commissioner, asking to look into the matter, no status report is yet known, said Gunjal.

V N More, Chairman, MPSC said, “Whenever we send a recommendation to the government, we always send it with a note that our recommendation is based on the exam or interview that we conduct. This is purely based on merit. The government should verify the claims made by the applicant. This includes all the documents like caste certificate, income certificate, non-creamy layer certificate, sports certificate or any other certificate. It is the prerogative of the appointing authority and in this case the education department to verify the documents by the candidates.”