Daijiworld Media Network - Chennai
Chennai, Jul 28: A court in Tamil Nadu on Tuesday sentenced two officials of a government-aided primary school to four years of rigorous imprisonment for fabricating student records to fraudulently obtain government funds in what has been described as a 'ghost student scam'.
The convicted officials were identified as Karunagara Sanjeev Doss, correspondent of Vitva Ratna Villa Government Aided Primary School, and its headmistress, Alice Thabitha Vijay Kumari.
According to an official release issued by the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC), Vellore, the court also imposed fines of Rs 35,000 on Doss and Rs 40,000 on Vijay Kumari.
The case was investigated by the DVAC, which found that the school's actual student strength was far lower than the number recorded in official registers. Investigators found that the accused had fraudulently added the names of 187 non-existent students to the school rolls.
The inflated enrolment enabled the school to obtain government approval for six additional teaching posts that were not required.
The investigation revealed that the officials illegally drew government funds amounting to Rs 4,67,121 towards salaries for the excess staff and an additional Rs 2,762 under the noon meal scheme, causing a total loss of more than Rs 4.69 lakh to the state exchequer.
The Ranipet court convicted both officials of criminal misconduct and misappropriation of public funds, sentencing them to four years of rigorous imprisonment. The court observed that the punishment was necessary to ensure accountability in government-aided educational institutions and deter similar fraudulent practices.
A ghost student scam involves educational institutions creating fake or non-existent student records to fraudulently claim government grants, scholarships, staff appointments or other financial benefits.
Such scams have surfaced in different parts of the country in recent years. In 2023, the Union government suspended several minority scholarship schemes following allegations of widespread fraud involving fake schools, ghost beneficiaries and diversion of government funds.
An investigation by the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) estimated irregularities involving Rs 144.33 crore under the minority scholarship programme. A separate review through the National Scholarship Portal reportedly identified more than 6,000 educational institutions suspected of enrolling ghost students.
The issue first came to light in 2020 after the Ministry of Minority Affairs directed Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Punjab to investigate alleged misuse of scholarship funds. The matter was subsequently referred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).