Two principals demoted as teachers due to fake degrees in J&K; there may be more [details]

Although two Principals in the School Education Department have been demoted as teachers after post-graduation degrees were found fake, many more are likely to face the same action because the process to reverify correspondence degrees has already been initiated by the authorities.

Sources said that postgraduate degrees procured by teachers through correspondence from some unknown degrees would be reverified to check authenticity.

Notable the Jammu and Kashmir School Education Department has started taking action against those teachers who have managed promotion on the basis of fraudulent degrees.

Two such teachers, who had managed to get promotions using fraudulent postgraduate degrees, were working as Principals in two different higher secondary schools in the Samba and Kathua districts of Jammu and Kashmir.

Investigations revealed that one of the teachers claimed to have earned a postgraduate degree in Chemistry from Magadh University in 2003, a programme that the university did not offer at the time.

Principals demoted as simple teachers, additional salaries to be recovered

As a consequence of these findings, Anita Sharma, who currently serves as the Principal of a Higher Secondary School in Sarna in the Samba district, and Raman Chanyal, the Principal of the Higher Secondary School in Machhedi, Kathua, have been demoted to teacher positions. They have been instructed to report to the Chief Education Officer of their respective districts.

The promotions of these teachers were based on falsified credentials. For instance, Anita Sharma was promoted to the role of in-charge lecturer in 2004. However, when requested to provide original service records and qualification certificates upon being posted at the Government Higher Secondary School in Mansar, he failed to produce legitimate documentation. Consequently, allowances were withheld from 2004 to 2006.

The School Education Department issued an order on March 5 to address this matter. Subsequently, the Directorate of School Education Jammu has directed the Chief Education Officers (CEOs) of Samba and Kathua districts to assign these teachers to teaching positions as per the issued directive.

Furthermore, the government also ordered the recovery of additional salaries from both the tainted teachers. Both the teachers have to deposit additional salaries they have drawn as in-charge lecturers, lecturers, senior lecturers, and principals.

Reverification of postgraduate degrees of teachers already started.

Last year Crime Branch had produced a chargesheet against eight teachers for producing fake degrees to get higher status in the physical education department, The Education Department has already started a process to reverify degrees produced by teachers to get promotions.

Highly placed sources said that a large number of teachers have produced postgraduate degrees to get promotions. These degrees were procured by these teachers from some mysterious universities.

Sources said that hundreds of teachers have produced post-graduate degrees to get promotions as lecturers. These teachers were promoted based on the degrees procured by them through correspondence mode.