Headmaster suspended on charge of embezzling funds under Mo School in Odisha
BERHAMPUR: The headmaster of a government school in Harabhanga block in Boudh district has been placed under suspension on charges of siphoning off funds worth Rs 1.50 lakh, meant for development of the school under the Mo School scheme.
After it came to fore, a district-wide circular has been issued, instructing all schools to submit details of their Mo School scheme accounts. The scheme mandates that donation from alumni towards the development of educational institutions will receive a matching grant from the government.
In this case, the headmaster, Nirmala Rana, is charged with manipulating records to pilfer the government funds. Sources said, old students of the Government upper primary school in Charichak, had donated Rs 70,000 for development of the school under Mo School scheme in 2024.
The school managing committee asked Rana to deposit Rs 50,000 in the bank and the rest Rs 20,000 was to be deposited later. However, Rana allegedly deposited only Rs 5,000 in the Mo School account at the Charichaka SBI branch in February 2024 but manipulated the deposit amount as Rs 50,000 in the slip.
As per norms, the district education officer forwarded the slip to the School and Mass Education Department, which released an additional Rs 1 lakh to the school’s account in March 2024. Rana allegedly withdrew Rs 1 lakh by submitting cheques in a phased manner but embezzled the funds instead of using it for the development of the school.
The misappropriation came to light when a member of the school’s management committee contacted the Education department in February and found out that funds were already released. This led to a complaint with the block education officer (BEO) and the matter came to fore.
The BEO informed the matter to the DEO following which two joint enquiries were conducted, which recommended disciplinary action against Rana who reportedly confessed to the impropriety.
After receiving the report, the DEO placed Rana under suspension on February 24. Rana has been directed to report at Bamanda UGH school, with a instruction not to leave without prior permission.
