Silvester D'Souza
Daijiworld Media Network – Kundapur (SP)

Kundapur, Jul 5: Even as protests and campaigns continue with their tirade against corruption, those skilled at subverting rules and twisting procedures continue to hoodwink the system. Badakere school in Hangalur village here stands as a good example for this phenomenon. Irregularities in this school are on openly since the last about eight years, and one can find umpteen number of fake bills prepared in the names of various shops and companies in the files of this school.

Tragically, however, this school has shown that officials at every level, and people like school headmaster and office bearers of the school development and monitoring committees, who are reverred by the general public and thought to be beyond the lure of corruption, can also fall to the desire to make money illegally. The officials have also made public their arrogance by overlooking the order of Lokayukta.

The government higher primary school at Hangalur, better known with the name, Badakere school – which is over a century old, has contributed great people to the society. Its past students have risen to enviable positions in both government and private institutions. Instead of carrying forward the legacy of the school, the school committee, department of public instructions, and school headmaster, have together worked to drive the school's reputation to lowest ebb.

Most of the irregularities in this school occurred when Khurshid Begum was its headmaster. There is clear evidence of irregularities at every stage of constructing a building on the occasion of the centenary celebrations of the school. The school possesses bills (copies of which are in possession of daijiworld) issued in the name of Ribco Steel Centre for purchase of cement, although this shop had never dealt with cement. The shop, when approached, claimed that this bill was not issued by it.

On the face of it, bills issued in the names of concerns like Everest Hardware and Balaji Traders are found to have been manufactured by the concerned, and not issued by the shopkeepers themselves. None of these bills have any mention of taxes, and it is seen that items worth about Rs 10,000 were bought through a small estimate slip issued by a shop bearing the name, 'Nirman Traders'.

Several vouchers for Rs 35,000 each were made out in the name of SSA engineer Mahantesh. The same engineer has also signed several bills worth lacs of rupees issued by Sri Gude Mahalingeshwara Enterprises ostensibly for purchase of several materials. Bill towards purchase of half a litre milk was also used by the school, it is seen.

Under Akshara Dasoha mid-day meal programme, lot of irregularities have occurred. These are reflected in the form of yawning gaps between the closing stocks of different materials mentioned in the registers for the earlier day, and the opening stock the next day. On some occasions, more than one LPG cylinder were bought on the same day, duly misusing subsided LPG for other purposes.

In case of endowments made by donors towards extending financial assistance to students out of interest earned thereon have been found to be grossly misused. These funds were never disbursed to students, it is learnt.

The quality of the new building including the headmaster's room built on the occasion of the centenary celebrations of the school is grossly substandard. Rainwater sifts through the terrace without let up, and doors are found to be made of fibre instead of good quality wood.

Relating to these irregularities, old students of this school, Ramachandra Varna, Narasimha Poojary, and Gururaj Hebbar, had filed a complaint with the Lokayukta, after obtaining details under Right to Information Act. Although the education department was later asked to hold an inquiry into the irregularities and take steps against the guilty, the department did nothing else other than suspending the headmaster. It is learnt that the department, which has refrained from holding investigation into the irregularities as per instructions given to it, is learnt to have decided to shower favours on the suspended headmaster by transferring her to another school.