Ghost teacher scam: Involvement of schools director, others ruled out

Fake teachers issued documents allowing them to draw benefits worth millions of rupees.

KARACHI: Investigators probing a case involving corruption worth millions of rupees in public schools have ruled out the hands of the big fish, the final charge-sheet revealed on Saturday.

Karachi schools director Abdul Wahab Abbasi, his assistant Saghir Wasti and other education and accounts officials were booked by the anti-corruption police for their alleged involvement in the scam.

According to the initially registered FIR, the schools director, his subordinates and other officials were involved in preparing fictitious certificates and documents so that ghost teachers could get appointments and promotions during 2012 and 2014. These teachers subsequently drew salaries, loans and other benefits illegally, causing losses of millions of rupees to the national exchequer. Ghost teachers, who had never actually been appointed, were also retired in order to get the provident fund allowances.

The FIR, registered in February, mentioned two high school teachers, Mussarat Bhutto and Khuda Bux Narejo, who were fraudulently posted in Marie Colaco Government School in Saddar. They had drawn around Rs5 million for their 'voluntary retirement'.

Abdul Wahab, earlier reported as the key accused, cited no confidence in the first investigation officer of the case, anti-corruption establishment assistant director Saeed Ahmed Rind, contending that the IO was harassing him.

The controversy led to the investigation being handed over to another anti-corruption official, Aijaz Ahmed Abbasi, who submitted the final challan to the city's anti-corruption court.

Referring to Bhutto and Narejo, the report stated that Abdul Wahab had issued retirement orders as a matter of routine on the recommendation of school principal Heera Lal Sham, then deputy district officer Ghulam Rasool Bhund and district education officer Sheedi Brohi. "Around 42,000 employees were working under his command," the charge-sheet stated. "Hence, it was not possible for him to know individual employees in person. Therefore, his version of acting in routine is plausible and keeps weight and merit."

The IO requested the court to exclude the names of Abdul Wahab, education officials Idress Bugio, Muhammad Fakhar and Wasti and accounts officer Shuja Ahmed from the case due to lack of evidence against them. The court, however, has yet to accept the investigation given in the charge-sheet and will give its decision on June 9.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 8^th, 2015.