Month after headcount in schools,Darda silent

More than a month after the much-publicised headcount in schools to detect any entries made in rolls of bogus students,the state Ministry of School Education has not made the results of the drive public.

More than a month after the much-publicised headcount in schools to detect any entries made in rolls of bogus students,the state Ministry of School Education has not made the results of the drive public. The report would pave the way for action against schools found guilty of showing inflated rolls with bogus names.

School Education Minister Rajendra Darda,who had earned much praise for what was described as a bold drive,had promised to declare the results by October-end. I would take the report to the cabinet and action to be taken against any errant schools would be decided, he had said on October 5,when the three-day drive was over.

The statewide drive was conducted by the government in about 94,000 schools,including government-aided and private. The decision to conduct it was taken after a pilot drive in Nanded district revealed that 20 per cent of students on rolls did not exist.

We have received the final report but it hasnt been put up in the cabinet yet, said Higher and Technical Education Department secretary Sanjay Kumar. Darda was unavailable for comment.

Activists claim the inaction on the part of the government shows its unwilling to act against erring schools owing to pressure from management of influential schools.

The initiative was good but it is meaningless unless the guilty face action. It seems the government is under pressure from school managements. It is clear that a scam worth crores of rupees is on. Using bogus students,these schools have been bagging funds as salaries for extra teachers,grants for books,mid-day meals and other non-existent expenses. This also reveals nexus between the education department officers and management of schools, said Jayant Jain,president,Forum for Fairness in Education.

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