Allegation of Rs 4.9 million embezzlement at School

Saptari, Oct.: It has been revealed that millions of rupees have been embezzled by the school management committee in Shree Kant Chandra Secondary School in Dakneshwori Municipality-5, Saptari. 

It is alleged that there was an irregularity of Rs 4.9 million from the budget of the last fiscal year under the model school in the name of collecting various educational materials and other material resources for the school. 

Sharad Kumar Dev, Principal of the Shree Kant Chandra Secondary School, said that although he has been working as the principal for four months, no documents have been handed over to him. 

He said that Yogendra Prasad Mehta, former Principal of the School has not handed over financial or other documents even though he should have been by now. 

Stating that the books of accounts and minutes are being kept by the Chairman of the School Management Committee Amarkant Chaudhary, he said, “Documents are not handed over to him despite the repeated requests.”

“ Rs 4.9 million have been already disbursed under the name of different people in the name of buying things, but, no purchased item have been shown nor have any bills reimbursed,” he said. 

Amarendra Kumar Yadav, a local youth, said that even though the parents committee of the school, local youths had requested repeatedly to monitor and investigate the financial discrepancies to the municipality, municipal officials and the principal have not acted on it. 

Mehta, the former principal of the school, said that the municipal officials and the school invigilator had illegally removed him from his post and replaced him with Sharad Kumar Dev. “I have filed a petition against it in the municipality.”

“No progress has been made on the petition, I have submitted all the necessary accounts to the school management committee,” he said. 

Contact could not be established with Amarkant Chaudhary Chairman of the School Management Committee, despite multiple attempts. 

Krishna Yadav, Chief of the Education Section of the municipality did not want to converse in the matter. 

The ward office had written a letter requesting information from the school administration regarding the financial irregularities, procurement process, and teachers' work on August 24. 

The school administration did not provide the information saying that the requested information and documents were not available. 

Principal Dev said,” We had written the letter on the school’s letter pad by clarifying the reason for not being able to give information under the right to information.” 

Shree Kant Chandra Model Secondary School receives millions of rupees every year from the federal government. 

The school received Rs 15 million in the previous fiscal year for the ICT program. Computers and other resources purchased under the program have not been used for the student’s studies even after two years. 

Yadav, a local youth, said that the materials including computers are locked in the warehouse of the school.