Dhanbad, Aug. 4: CPIML (Allied) MLA Arup Chatterjee on Tuesday levelled serious allegations of irregularities in teacher transfers, postings and deputations in Dhanbad’s Education Department, claiming that transactions worth nearly ₹3 crore took place over the past year to facilitate preferred postings.
The Nirsa legislator met District Superintendent of Education (DSE) Shalini Dungdung and sought details under the Right to Information (RTI) Act regarding transfers, postings and deputations of teachers in government schools across the district during the last one year.
Chatterjee alleged that the transfer process had led to an imbalance in teacher deployment, with rural schools facing an acute shortage of teachers despite having higher student enrolment, while urban schools had a comparatively larger number of teachers despite lower student strength.
Claiming that House Rent Allowance (HRA) available in urban areas was driving the alleged malpractice, the MLA said teachers were paying large sums to secure postings in towns.
“Large-scale transfers and deputations of teachers were carried out for approximately ₹3 crore,” Chatterjee alleged, adding that “rural schools have fewer teachers despite having more students, while urban schools have more teachers despite fewer students.”
He further alleged that teachers were paying lakhs of rupees to obtain postings in urban schools because of the HRA benefits, describing corruption in the Education Department as widespread and claiming that the alleged practice had adversely affected the quality of education in rural areas.
The MLA also alleged that he had filed an RTI application two months ago seeking information on teacher transfers and postings, but had not received any response. He claimed that despite informing the Dhanbad Deputy Commissioner on multiple occasions, no action had been taken.
“An RTI response was sought two months ago, but has not been received to date. The Dhanbad Deputy Commissioner has been informed several times, but no action has been taken,” Chatterjee said.
Warning of further agitation, the MLA said he would launch an indefinite hunger strike outside the Deputy Commissioner’s office from August 17 if the requested information was not furnished. He also said the issue would be raised during the forthcoming session of the Jharkhand Assembly.
Attempts to obtain a response from the Deputy District Education Officer (DDE) were unsuccessful. No official response from the Education Department or the district administration was immediately available.
