The education department in the city seems to be consistently mired in some controversy or the other. While it is true that some allegations are not backed by proper evidence and fizzle out after making an initial impact, there are incidents which reek of brazen corruption but have not been taken to their logical conclusion.
As of now there are inquiries going on into various incidents which took place in all the three education offices in the city. Offices of the education officer (primary) and education officer (middle) look after the schools under their jurisdiction and both report directly to the deputy director (education) office. However, if the matter is related to zilla parishad (ZP) schools, then the officials have to report to CEO of ZP.
First, the primary education department has been under the scanner for over two months now. TOI had reported on May 21 that ZP president Suresh Bhoyar had demanded a probe into the primary teachers' transfer meet held in June. Someshwar Netam, education officer (primary), has been facing allegations of manipulating the entire process. Netam however denied the charges and said, "Everything was done transparently. During the meet we had put up a large screen where the posts available for compulsory transfer were available. The problem is that some of the teachers don't want to serve in tribal areas and now that the government has made everything transparent they don't get a chance to manipulate the system."
Secondly, the middle education office too is facing heat from a committee probing irregularities in teacher appointments. TOI had reported on July 7 that a special committee was formed after the issue was raised in the assembly. Sources have confirmed to TOI that the final report is now ready. An official associated with the probe said, "We have reached a conclusion which cannot be revealed at this moment but the final report will be submitted to our director in Pune next week. Any further action against the people concerned will be the director's call." The member did not mention which officials were directly under the scanner during the probe. The office is headed by BH Patil but it seems that he may come out unscathed as he was on leave during the time the alleged irregularities occurred. This particular office is also mired in an ugly power struggle between staff members.
Last comes the office of the deputy director (education) which is headed by Mahesh Karajgaonkar, a name not new to controversies. For many years, various allegations have been made against Karajgaonkar but very few have stuck. The ones that did stick were not big enough for serious action against him. Just last week he was fined Rs 2,000 by the Nagpur bench of Bombay High Court for not complying with its orders. Known to have strong connections in political circles, he has managed to find favour with government even during his toughest of challenges. Karajgaonkar, on his part, has always denied all allegations and termed them as personal vendetta.
Now all eyes are on the probe report on the middle school department to be submitted next week. If it is adverse, then it will paint a sorry picture of a department which plays a big role in preparing the future leaders of the country.