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Reports indicate that prior investigations have already uncovered about 4,000 teachers with falsified credentials.
The education department plans to implement a digital service book for all teachers. (Representative Image)
In a developing scandal within Bihar’s education system, authorities are raising alarms over the possible reinstatement of fake teachers, endangering the jobs of approximately 24,000 educators. This situation follows the recent counselling sessions held for 1.87 lakh candidates who passed a competency test, during which significant discrepancies emerged regarding the authenticity of teaching credentials.
Between December 1 and 13 last year, counselling was conducted for a large number of teachers; however, around 42,000 were left uncounselled, with over 3,000 failing to attend. Notably, biometric verification was not completed for more than 10,000 of these individuals. The education department promised that those who missed their chance will receive another opportunity following the Chhath festival this year.
Concerns escalated as numerous certificates were flagged as potentially fraudulent during ongoing verification processes. After the initial counselling of the successful candidates, it was revealed that many mark sheets raised suspicions, prompting the education department to forward these documents to the relevant universities for further examination.
Reports indicated that prior investigations already uncovered about 4,000 teachers with falsified credentials. Alarmingly, around 80% of these individuals scored below the required 60% threshold on their mark sheets, while 20% were found to have fabricated various certificates, including those related to disability, caste, residence, and sports.
The education department confirmed that disciplinary action is imminent for the 24,000 teachers identified as having multiple questionable certificates. In addition to job termination, the government plans to recover salaries paid to these individuals during their tenure. Further investigations will be conducted, and if no valid documentation is found, the implicated teachers could face legal repercussions.
While the education department reports that only 96 mark sheets were confirmed as fake among those who attended counselling, the situation remains tense. Many teachers who did not participate in the counselling sessions are now under scrutiny, with plans to investigate their credentials as well.
Yogendra Singh, Director of Secondary Education, highlighted that over 40,000 teachers were unable to attend their counselling sessions. The department is preparing to address these candidates in November, particularly in light of the numerous suspicious mark sheets identified during the process.
In a bid to prevent such issues in the future, the education department plans to implement a digital service book for all teachers. This initiative will involve thorough verification of teachers’ credentials – including mark sheets, identification, and residential information – using biometric authentication. Once established, this system will allow for real-time inspections and facilitate improved oversight of teachers’ records, ensuring that fraudulent activities are significantly reduced in Bihar’s education sector.
