City school milked govt through fake teachers

NAGPUR: Shakespeare said 'what's in a name?' At a city-based school, it meant a steady teaching job even if you did not have the required credentials! A major teacher recruitment scam has been unearthed at a government aided school in Nagpur. At St. Vincent school, Medical Square, unqualified teachers were recruited using fake names and continued working for almost three decades.The teachers continued to draw salary under the fake names, withdrew money from provident fund account, and milked tax payers money which came to the school as grants.
The Zilla Parishad's (ZP) education department has indicted nine school employees and one senior education officer in this scam. According to ZP's investigation report, copy of which is with TOI, it was the school's non-teaching employee Ignatius Bastian who was responsible for the entire scam.
Modus Operandi: Whenever qualified teachers resigned from school, the fact was not conveyed to the government nor their names struck off the rolls. Their salaries, part of the government grant, kept coming to the school for years. The teachers who were not qualified for the post were hired and made to work under the names of such former employees. The fraud was being committed for a long time.
The ZP report mentions one instance where one St. Vincent employee Nafisa Baig, a teacher with proper credentials, stopped coming abruptly to school from 1989. But unknown to Baig and the government, one Jaishree Bastian started working under her (Baig's) name and received salary from the government for almost two decades! Jaishree is the wife of Ignatius Bastian whom the ZP report names as kingpin of the scam. Jaishree not only received salary but also withdrew money from Baig's provident fund account citing daughter's marriage.
Including Jaishree and Ignatius, a total of nine employees were found guilty. In addition a senior education officer of ZP too has been indicted for colluding with the school in the scam. Archana Hazare, senior educational officer, ZP, was overseeing the school since 2003. The ZP report found her guilty of ignoring malpractices going on at the school. The report has asked for immediate suspension of all ten and recovery of money from Ignatius Bastian.
A family fiefdom: Located at Medical square, the school is run by St. Ignatius Educational Society (IES). The late Adv. D A Bastian's parents had established IES and he along with his family members was actively involved in the management of the school. His brother Ignatius has been named as the person behind the recruitment scam. Bastian's son Victor, a lawyer, is now member of the trust. The school has many of Bastian family members employed as well. After the D A Bastian's death a few years ago, Bastian's sons and Ignatius apparently fell out.
Deputy director Mahesh Karajgaonkar confirmed to TOI that criminal charges against Ignatius have been filed. "We are now waiting for the police to file their detailed report. We have already suspended all the people involved in this matter," Karajgaonkar told TOI. He said an FIR has been lodged in the case by his education officer Ashok Netam. But when TOI contacted Netam he said "We filed a complaint at Imambada police station requesting them to conduct an enquiry but no FIR has been lodged." Netam however did not have an answer why no FIR was lodged.
TOI also spoke with Dennis Bastian, IES trustee Victor's elder brother, who said, "We cannot file a complaint now as IES has a court matter pending. Until then we cannot take any action. Earlier we had filed three police complaints against Ignatius at Imambada police station for matters related to missing official documents etc". Dennis added that all staff members found guilty have been suspended from the school, and studies in the school have not been affected in anyway.