Patna: The education department has ordered action against around 1,700 teachers who allegedly secured appointments using fake certificates and directed officials to expedite verification of the remaining records, education minister Mithilesh Tiwari said during a review meeting held on Wednesday.The minister said verification of certificates had been completed for 2.40 lakh of the 3.20 lakh teachers whose credentials are under scrutiny. He directed officials to expedite the remaining verification process and initiate action as per rules against those found guilty.The meeting also reviewed pending salary payments, attendance, school infrastructure and financial irregularities. Tiwari instructed officials to ensure that salaries of teachers and non-teaching staff are released before Chhath and stressed that there should be no unnecessary delay in disbursement.Expressing concern over financial irregularities reported from several districts, he ordered strict action against erring officials and employees. He also directed officials to ensure at least 75% attendance among education volunteers and Talimi Markaz workers and prepare a standard operating procedure (SOP) to improve student attendance.Taking note of nearly 5% of teachers not marking attendance, the minister asked the additional chief secretary to coordinate with district magistrates through video conferencing and establish a foolproof attendance monitoring system.Tiwari also directed officials to prepare an SOP for maintaining cleanliness in schools and emphasised the deployment of security guards to prevent theft. All schools, including Saraswati Vidya Niketan model schools, will be equipped with CCTV cameras.The meeting discussed salary anomalies affecting seven categories of teachers, particularly the denial of pay protection to head teachers. The minister directed officials to ensure that eligible teachers receive the benefit in accordance with rules.Instructions were also issued to display photographs of President, Prime Minister, chief minister and education minister, alongside those of Mahatma Gandhi, Dr B R Ambedkar and Swami Vivekananda, in schools. The proposal for the Rs 248-crore Vidya Bhawan project also came up for discussion during the meeting.
