The Ilaiabad High Court has ordered a thorough verification of all educational certificates and documents related to the appointment of teachers working in government schools in the state of Uttar Pradesh.
The court instructed the state's Special Task Force (STF) to take responsibility for this. The court also directed all teachers teaching in grades one through eight to provide clean copies of their employment contracts and educational documents to the relevant Basic Education Officer (BSA) within one week.
The decision was made by the court, presided over by Judge Vinod Diwakar, after reviewing cases where teachers obtained jobs using educational certificates or forged documents belonging to others. It was reported to the court that in some instances, ten or more people were employed based on the same set of certificates.
According to the court's directives, all teachers must submit clean copies of their employment contracts and educational certificates to the respective BSA. Subsequently, the BSA will forward these documents to regional STF offices for verification. The court also required the STF to develop a systematic procedure for checking these documents, involving the Senior Police Commissioner or District Police Commissioner if necessary.
Furthermore, all teachers must provide a notarized affidavit stating information about any close relatives who are or have been employed at the BSA level or higher in the Uttar Pradesh education department.
The court noted that the State Director of Education would oversee this entire process. He may also appoint an employee for daily monitoring of the work. Similarly, the Additional General Director of Police STF will monitor the verification and validation, having the authority to appoint staff to track daily progress.
In its October 16 order, the High Court warned that any negligence or failure to comply with the duties under this procedure would be taken seriously, and the concerned official could be held personally accountable.
These instructions were given during the hearing of a petition filed by a teacher named Kusum Lata. Previously, following a prior court order, the Additional Police Commissioner of Lucknow STF submitted a report stating that the petitioner had secured employment using Kusum Lata Shrivastava's educational documents. Kusum Lata Shrivastava had previously worked as a teacher's assistant in Gorakhpur.
The STF investigation revealed instances of employment secured using forged certificates or the documents of other individuals in other regions of the state. In some cases, it was reported that ten or more people were hired based on the same set of educational documents.
During the hearing, the High Court also expressed concern over the shortage of students in the state's government primary schools. The court stated that one of the main reasons for the closure of many primary schools is the low number of students. In the court's view, this shortage is linked not only to a lack of resources but also to the deterioration of educational quality and teacher productivity.
The High Court ordered the case to be adjourned for further consideration on November 4, when compliance with the document verification orders will be checked and a decision on the further course of action will be made.