The Odisha government has dismissed four school teachers from service after they were found to have secured their jobs fraudulently by producing bogus educational certificates in Puri’s Krushnaprasad block.
The fake teachers have been identified as Assistant Teacher Nanda Kishore Sethy working at Charchika UGUP school, Assistant Teacher Saudamini Pradhan working at Ora CPS, Assistant Teacher Suresh Chandra Palai from Biripadar government PPS, and Assistant Teacher Satyasundar Biswal from Khirisahi Project Primary School.
As per reports, a complaint was filed against these four teachers with the Police Crime Branch in 2022 alleging that they submitted fake certificates to get teacher jobs. The Crime Branch with the help of the District Education Officer (DEO) verified their certificates and found them to be fake.
The DEO had issued show-cause notices to all the four accused teachers on March 31, 2023 asking them why disciplinary action should not be taken against them. In their replies, they claimed the allegations against them were false and fabricated.
It is pertinent to mention here that Nanda Kishore Sethy, Saudamini Pradhan and Suresh Chandra Palai had submitted fake B.Ed certificates of 1996 batch from Utkal University, Vani Vihar during their initial engagement as Sikhya Sahayaks in 2007. However, the DEO found those to be fake later and dismissed them from the job yesterday.
Similarly, Satyasundar Biswal had obtained a fake B.Sc certificate from Kabi Samrat Upendrabhanja College at Bhanjanagar under Berhampur University in the year 2004. He had reportedly used that fake certificate to get a job as Sikhya Sahayak in 2011.
Biswal was dismissed from job after the DEO found that the qualifying certificate was fake.
This is not the first time fake teachers are caught in the block. Last year, four teachers were dismissed from job for the same reason. Similarly, four other teachers found to have taken up jobs by furnishing forged educational certificates in Bolangir were dismissed from service in August this year.