‘Ghost’ teachers settled abroad, but still on Gujarat payroll

Gujarat government suspends over 1,300 absentee teachers, including those who have migrated abroad, amid accountability crackdown.

More than 50 teachers in Gujarat’s government schools who have migrated out of the country still continue to draw salaries from the government; not only are they not teaching children, they are not even present in their schools, or in the country.

They are only the tip of a very large iceberg. The State government recently suspended nearly 1,350 teachers who have not attended school or done any teaching work for more than nine months. The State education minister said that “stern action” will be taken against such teachers, who will be dismissed from their jobs. 

The government action was prompted by local media highlighting the case of Bhavna Patel, a teacher in Banaskantha district has been absent from duty for eight years and has, in fact, settled in the United States, but still continued to draw her salary from the government. 

Officials said she has not received salary continuously as reported by the local media. The State Education department, however, is yet to provide details about how could she could have remained absent from duty for so many years without being detected by the system. Her salary was reportedly stopped only from January this year.

Another case in Banaskantha is that of Darshan Patel, who has settled in Canada but continues to remain on the payroll in his native State as a teacher in a village in Vav taluka of the district. 

Subsequently, more such cases have came to light in Mehsana, Kheda, Kutch, Gandhinagar, Ahmedabad and several other districts, raising questions about the functioning of the State-run education system. 

The Education department has now directed all district primary education and administrative officers to terminate the services of such teachers before the end of this month.