Kathmandu, October 16

The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority has directed the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration and the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology to ensure that appointment and transfer procedures of community school teachers fully complied with the Education Rules-2002.

As per the rules, no teachers shall be appointed or transferred to the school where there is no vacant post. If any candidate applied for permanent appointment to any vacant post approved by the government, the concerned school management committee may appoint the person to replace a temporary teacher at the school. The temporary teacher is given maximum six months time to quit the job.

“If any person is appointed as a teacher or if a teacher is transferred in defiance of the rules, the amount expended as salary, allowance on such teacher shall be recovered from the authority involved in the appointment or transfer,” stated the rules. The anti-graft body has warned against such unauthorised activities taking place at various community schools after Rajeshwor Prasad Chaurasiya, a school inspector in Education Section of Parsa-based Jagarnathpur Rural Municipality, was found to have been involved in corruption by issuing fake appointment letters to various individuals as teachers, recently. According to the CIAA, Chaurasiya also assigned individuals to work at different schools as salaried teachers on the basis of fake appointment letters, without fulfilling the criteria set forth in the rules.

Shiva Shanker Prasad Yadav had provided Rs 250,000 in bribe to Chaurasiya to get appointed as a teacher at Shree Ram Janaki Primary School even as the school had no vacant post. Yadav had received Rs 391,710 in salary as sanctioned by the rural municipality at the behest of Chairasiya. The CIAA has filed a corruption case against Chairasiya and Yadav at the Special Court in accordance with the Prevention of Corruption Act.

The anti-graft body has claimed for recovery of Rs 641,710, including the principal amount and fine, from the duo. The CIAA has also reminded that the rural municipality and municipality officials were not authorised to appoint or transfer teachers. It said chairperson of Jagarnathpur Rural Municipality had appointed Pramod Ram and Nauprasad Alam at a Parsa-based school as teachers for four months without any legal basis. “Such act may give rise to corruption,” the anti-graft body warned.

Meanwhile, the MoFAGA has issued a circular today, accompanied by the directive of the CIAA, to all local levels to act as per the rules while appointing and transferring community school teachers.