The Bench was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) petition filed by Brijmohan Mishra highlighting the fact that as per the records of the State government, a large number of students were admitted to various aided schools and large number of teachers and other staff were appointed by such schools in order to maintain the student-teacher ratio.
However, the plea alleged that the number of students admitted to various schools were actually inflated in connivance with some of the officers of the State, and crores of public money is diverted by such fraudulent means under the guise of providing grant-in-aid and facilities.
The State government filed an affidavit to the plea, stating that it has spent over ₹6.35 crores since 2012 under the grant-in-aid policy.
It added that it has launched an enquiry into the issue and steps have been initiated to recover the amounts from several schools and officials indulging in such serious malpractice.
The affidavit stated that from 2020 onwards, the State directed all the schools to link the Aadhar of students with that of the local civic bodies and in the process found several bogus Aadhar numbers in its enquiry.
Orders have been issued to all authorities to ensure that students enroll themselves on the state-run SARAL Pranali app so that the data is monitored properly, the affidavit mentioned.
Source: Barandbench
