Mid-day meal and free text books have produced at least 30 lakh fake students in
Assam
Mid-day meal and free text books have produced at least
30 lakh fake students in Assam. This was revealed in the assembly on Tuesday. According
to Assam education minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, the figure was arrived at after
comparing the annual enrolment of students in schools and the minimum number of
births in a year.
"At least 5 lakh babies are born in Assam every year, and if all of them go to school,
the number of students up to class 8 (minus kindergarten) will be 40 lakh. But we
are producing text books as well as providing mid-day meals for 72 lakh students
in classes 1-8," he said.
Sarma did not rule out the possibility of teachers and school authorities enrolling
fictitious students to divert textbooks and funds provided for mid-day meal. "We
intend to get to the bottom of this," he said. Nagaland, on the other hand, had
been grappling with more than 1,500 fake teachers whose detection affected the 'communitisation
programme' entailing community control over school management. A tad more than 300
of such bogus teachers were terminated a few days ago.
The action against the teachers has made several pressure groups seek an end to
backdoor appointments of sub-divisional officers and junior engineers in government
departments. "We met the chief secretary on Monday and submitted our demand for
axing all those appointed illegally," said Naga Students' Federation president Kelhouneizo
Yhome.
The students' body has set a 60-day deadline for action to be taken against
fake appointees.
Courtesy: Times of India
