Thanks to the installation of biometric machines at hostels run by the social welfare department, a scam involving officials of the department in collusion with contractors has been exposed.
The department, which had installed biometric systems (thumb impression devices) at 280 hostels in various parts of the state, found that only 35% of the students were actually staying in these hostels.
However, officials were found creating false bills for the supply of food items in nexus with contractors, claiming that all the students were residing in the hostels. The state government, waking up to the situation, has now decided to install biometric systems in all 4,144 hostels in the State.
Announcing the decision, social welfare minister, A Narayanaswamy said, “To put an end to various malpractices and bring in transparency we have decided to install biometric scanners and CCTV cameras at all the hostels across the state. In the future, the attendance of students will get registered on an intranet and higher officials in the department will access all the data. The movement of officials will also come under the scanner and a lackadaisical approach to inspection of hostels will hopefully cease.”
When asked why there was poor attendance of students in these hostels, the minister said, “It is not known yet, though we have noticed that hostels for senior students are recording good numbers, while the numbers at hostels for secondary students have always been minimal."
"This could be because of the effective implementation of the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan scheme that facilitates establishment of secondary schools in each village. Students, therefore, have no need to avail these hostel facilities anymore,” he added.
