Relief for some, scrutiny for others Pay unit halts salaries of over 1,000 teachers; 370 schools under scanner

 

 

The pay unit of Education Department in Nagpur has cleared the issue of pending salaries of primary teachers of the district but not for all. It has stopped the salaries of over 1,000 teachers whose names figured in the list of 1,056 teachers whose appointment was found bogus. After the Shalarth ID scam came to the fore, Government is checking every aspect minutely. The bogus appointments of teachers impacted the salaries. They did not get their salaries of March and April. Now, the investigation has brought several things to the fore. While drawing salaries, the current Superintendent of Pay Unit Gautam Gedam separated the salaries of teachers appointed with proper procedure from the teachers whose appointments are allegedly fake.

 

 

 

Accordingly, the pay unit has cleared the salaries of over 2,000 teachers. There are over 370 schools under scanner whose involvement in Shalarth ID scam was visible. The investigation into these schools and their teachers is going on. Government had asked these schools to submit the details so that time in the investigation could be saved. Some 40 schools did not submit the details so the Education Department did not clear the salaries of teachers working in those schools. The scam involved fraudulently registering teachers and non-teaching staff on the government portal to draw salaries. This has caused major inconvenience to the teachers, as their salaries were delayed for two months. Education Pay Unit office had sought paybills of teachers from their respective schools.

 

After receiving paybills the pay unit office started the further process. The salary delays have caused significant financial hardship for teachers and their families, as they rely on their income for their livelihood. Now they have heaved a sigh of relief. Meanwhile Police have speeded up the investigation and constituted Special Investigation Teams (SITs). These SITs are working on two levels--it is investigating the offences registered in the scam and other is regarding the cases. SIT is also checking cyber angle.