PROMOTIONS ON FAKE DEGREES: RECORDS MISSING;Seven Directors changed but ‘swindler’ clerk remains in place

 VIVEK SHARMA
JAMMU: In what could be termed as clerical hegemony in Education Department, the illegal promotions of 1,193 incumbents could not be revoked during the tenure of seven Directors, two of them formally booked by the State Vigilance Organisation.
The promotion were effected on the basis of fake degrees. SVO has already registered FIR against two Heads of Department.
In a fresh RTI reply, the Directorate of School Education Jammu has stated that the entire record related to vacancies and 1193 promotions made on Feb 11, 2014 has been taken by the State Vigilance Organisation (SVO) whereas the vigilance sleuths are making rounds of Education department to get the record.
Sources said that some clerk in the department has swindled all required record with regard to promotions.
STATE TIMES has got access to a letter, concealed by incharge of the committee constituted for the promotion of Teachers as Masters. He has been holding this assignment for quite a long time and is still holding the same post. The members of the panel do not figure in the FIRs, registered to probe the fake degrees scam.
Ravi Razdan , designated to check the records of all districts, was main member of the committee constituted for promotion of teachers. An order to this effect was issued by Personnel Officer, Directorate of School Education, Jammu vide No DSEJ/9099-9112 dated November 11, 2013. Later, the promotion orders were issued on February 11, 2014.
Though the SVO sleuths and the departmental committees also pointed out towards the promotions on fake degrees yet the entire record is reportedly missing.
Reason, the incharge of checking the district records remained same while seven Directors swapped their positions.
Naresh Kumar, President of Government Post Graduate Teachers Association said, “After long efforts, FIR was registered in fake degrees scam but we fear that entire records will be destroyed. How vigilance can probe the matter and book the culprits?”
“Why Ravi Razdan is continuing on the same post? asked Naresh Kumar, adding, that the entire record has been misplaced to give favour to the accused officers and the beneficiaries.
After the exposure of promotion of 1193 Teachers as Masters, mostly on the basis of fake and unrecognised degrees, the Directorate of Education Jammu is delaying the information to the State Vigilance Organisation (SVO) with regard to names of promotees and their respective heads including the Chief Education Officers (CEOs) and Zonal Education Officers (ZEOs) who verified and enrolled their degrees on service books.
Soon after the exposure by STATE TIMES, the SVO had started a preliminary inquiry into the scam with focus on the perpetrators, who had facilitated the promotions on fake testimonials.
However, despite series of reminders to Director Education Jammu vide numbers Veri-©-20/2014-6125 dated 21st April 2015 and Director Educations’ reminders to CEOs of Jammu, Kathua, Samba, Rajouri and Poonch vide numbers DSEJ/NG/M/Vig/2071-77 dated 7th May 2015 and DSEJ/NG/M/73369-75 dated 30th May, 2016, no information was shared with the SVO.
The reminders seeking identifications of promotees on B.Ed degrees obtained from unrecognised universities also proved a futile exercise. The reminders read, “You are once again requested to furnish the report through special messenger within one day positively …whether any study leave /permission has been sought by the teachers who have obtained degrees from Universities like Jamia Urdu Aligarh (UP) and PRIST (TN) etc. Whether, the permission granted for study leave has been entered in service records of the promoted teachers or otherwise? Officers/officials be nominated who have verified as well as those who have entered these degrees on the service records of promoted teachers”.
On 14th May, 2015, the then Director Education Simrandeep Singh had even written a time bound letter to all the CEOs to provide information regarding place of posting of the promotees and their pay grades, despite the orders with regard to promotions having been kept in abeyance. He had also sought the copies of their service books and B.Ed degrees duly attested by the concerned drawing and disbursing officers.
As per promotion list issued by the Director School Education Jammu vide No. SEJ/NG/M/Prom./7255/681 dated 11th February 2014, 1193 Teachers were promoted as Masters. Of these over 450 teachers were promoted on the basis of B.Ed degrees obtained from Open Universities through distance-mode particularly from Jamia Urdu Aligarh University (UP).
Many teachers who were enrolled in B.Ed course for the session 2012-13 in Kashmir/Jammu University were deliberately left. The promotion orders were issued on 11th February 2014 without waiting for the results of Kashmir and Jammu Universities, which were declared on 22nd February 2014 and 15th March 2014 respectively.
The credentials of the Jamia Urdu Aligarh (UP) came to question when Rajouri Police conducted a raid during the examinations on 28th December 2013. The police had seized the records.
Thirteen candidates, all government teachers, appearing for examination, were nabbed while others had managed to escape. During investigation, it was established that the Centre was affiliated to Jamia Urdu Aligarh University of UP and the government teachers of Poonch and Rajouri area were appearing in the paper. Interestingly, the exam was to be conducted at 10:00 A M that day but the organisers chose 10:00 PM for obvious reasons.
FIR 98/2013, under Sections 409/120-B/420 and 2/3 RPC was registered against them at Rajouri.
The University of Jammu vide its letter No PIO/JU/14/10933 dated 30th March 2014 had clearly stated that “Jamia Urdu Aligarh University (UP) is neither recognised by UGC nor University of Jammu. “This university is also not the Member of Association of Indian Universities, New Delhi.” This information was received in repose to RTI application.
The records revealed that some teachers were promoted as masters on BEd degrees from PRIST University, Tamil Nadu, MDV Rohtak University, Maghad University, Kota Raja University, Rajasthan, Ruhlekhand University, Gulburga University, Gujarat, HSS Paryog University, Gurukul Mathra University, BSP University, UP and Jamia Urdu Aligarh.
In last two years, T K Sharma, IAS, H R Pakrhoo, Rashid Inqalabi, Simrandeep Singh, Yasha Mudgal, Samita Sethi and at present Bablia Rakwal is on the chair of director school education.
Much to our satisfaction, Simrandeep had assured us to at least quash the list of promote but he was posted in few months of his stay, said Naresh Kumar, present of Teachers’ Association.