“Anamika Shukla” case reveals corruption in Uttar Pradesh education system
Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh:
Three other arrests were made in the bizarre case of a Uttar Pradesh teacher who was employed by at least nine schools without attending a single class. The arrests were made by the Special Task Force on Monday, bringing the total number of people detained in a teacher appointment case to five who allegedly used false documents.
The three men who were arrested assisted in the appointment of several teachers to Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya using false papers, said UP police.
Five police cases were brought against the teacher, whose name on the registers is “Anamika Shukla”. Otherwise, the original Anamika Shukla is unemployed and six other teachers received the salary using his name, which, incidentally, translates to “unnamed”.
Earlier this month, local newspapers reported that documents in the name of “Anamika Shukla” had been used in at least 25 state-run or Kasturba Gandhi Vidyalayas girls’ schools. These reports alleged that a cumulative salary of 1 crore Rs had been taken in the name of “Anamika Shukla” during the past 13 months in these 25 schools.
To add to the mystery, a woman of the same name came to an office in the education department of the city of Gonda in Uttar Pradesh, claiming that she was the “real Anamika Shukla” and that her documents were used to fraud without his knowledge.
The UP government admitted that there had been fraud but claimed that the newspaper articles were greatly exaggerated.
The investigation revealed that the same documents in the name of “Anamika Shukla” were used full-time as a science teacher in nine schools in different districts.
The case again highlights corruption in the state education system.
