Beed, March 31 Authorities in the Beed district of Maharashtra have suspended eight teachers from various primary schools run by the Zilla Parishad for allegedly claiming government benefits by falsely claiming to have hearing impairments, officials said on Tuesday.
These teachers are from schools located in different parts of the district, and the action against them was taken after an investigation.
The action followed a detailed medical reassessment conducted by the Ali Yavar Jung National Institute of Speech and Hearing Disabilities, a leading national institution. The reassessment found that the teachers' level of hearing impairment was significantly below the benchmark required to qualify for benefits for people with hearing disabilities, the officials added.
Acting on this, the Beed Zilla Parishad CEO, Jithin Rahman, ordered the immediate suspension of the eight teachers and directed that a departmental inquiry be initiated against them.
Officials said that government employees with certified disabilities are entitled to several benefits, including reservation benefits in direct recruitment, preferential transfers and promotions, additional travel allowance, tax exemptions, and income tax concessions.
However, the administration received multiple complaints questioning the authenticity of disability certificates and Unique Disability ID (UDID) cards submitted by certain teachers and employees.
Following directives from the State Department of Disability Welfare, the education department initiated verification of disability certificates under the provisions of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016.
Under Section 91 of the Act, fraudulently claiming benefits for people with disabilities attracts a penalty of up to two years' imprisonment, a fine of up to Rs 1 lakh, or both.
Medical reassessment exposes discrepancies Based on the complaints, the suspected teachers were referred to the Ali Yavar Jung National Institute for a fresh medical examination and reassessment of their disability percentage. The institute's hearing evaluation reports confirmed that the teachers did not meet the prescribed criteria for hearing disability as they had claimed.
The suspension orders state that the teachers allegedly misrepresented their disability status and unlawfully availed benefits reserved for eligible people with benchmark disabilities, resulting in financial loss to the government.
Most of the teachers are from schools located in the Ambajogai tehsil, while some are from Kaij, Beed, and Georai tehsils.
CEO Rahman said that a total of 35 teachers claiming disability benefits have been directed to undergo medical examination.
"So far, eight teachers have completed the process, and all of them were found to have invalid disability certificates. The remaining 27 teachers have been instructed to undergo medical reassessment. Further action will be taken based on the medical reports," he said.