By Arun Pratap Singh
Garhwal Post Bureau
Hardiwar, 29 May: A major irregularity has surfaced in madrasas operating in Uttarakhand’s Haridwar district after nearly 12,000 students reportedly ‘disappeared’ from official records during a government verification exercise. The sharp decline in student numbers has triggered concern within the Education Department and intensified scrutiny over allegations that inflated enrolment figures were being used to obtain benefits under government welfare schemes, including the mid-day meal programme.
According to officials, the number of students enrolled in madrasas in the district has suddenly dropped from nearly 31,000 to around 19,000 following the verification process initiated by the administration. The dramatic fall in enrolment has created a stir in the department, prompting the district administration to order a detailed inquiry into the functioning of several madrasas.
Haridwar District Magistrate Mayur Dixit has constituted a four-member committee under the chairmanship of the SDM to investigate the matter further. The committee also includes the District Education Officer, District Probation Officer and District Minority Welfare Officer. The panel has been asked to examine discrepancies in enrolment records, utilisation of government funds and possible irregularities in the implementation of welfare schemes.
The issue came to light after the Education Department recently conducted inspections of madrasas in Laksar tehsil on the instructions of the DM. During the inquiry, irregularities were reportedly found in 23 out of the 131 madrasas operating in the district. Following the findings, funds under the PM Poshan Scheme, including mid-day meal allocations and other government assistance, were stopped for these institutions.
As scrutiny intensified, 11 madrasa operators themselves submitted applications to discontinue the mid-day meal scheme in their institutions. Officials said these madrasas had very low actual student strength despite claiming full payments under the scheme. Authorities suspect that a substantial number of the 12,000 “missing” students may be linked to these institutions where inflated enrolment figures were allegedly shown on paper.
District Basic Education Officer Amit Kumar Chand said fluctuations in student numbers are generally witnessed during the transition between academic sessions and the situation usually stabilises by July. However, officials admitted that the scale of the present decline has raised serious questions and warranted a deeper investigation.
The alleged irregularities reportedly began surfacing after the administration initiated stricter monitoring measures in April this year. On April 18, District Basic Education Officer Amit Kumar Chand held a meeting with madrasa operators in Roorkee and created a WhatsApp monitoring group to ensure greater transparency in the implementation of the mid-day meal scheme. Madrasa managements were instructed to upload daily photographs and videos showing preparation and distribution of meals to students.
Soon after the monitoring system was introduced, 11 madrasas stopped uploading photographs and videos to the group. According to officials, the operators of these institutions subsequently submitted applications seeking discontinuation of the mid-day meal scheme, allegedly after realising that the verification process could expose discrepancies in student attendance and utilisation of government funds.
The administration first stopped the mid-day meal scheme in 11 madrasas where nearly 4,000 students had been shown enrolled. Thereafter, the inquiry was expanded to all 131 madrasas in the district. During the verification exercise, officials found that the cumulative student strength across institutions had declined by nearly 10,000 to 12,000 between March and April records.
Further investigation also revealed alleged irregularities in the operation of multiple institutions under the same management. In Sultanpur area, officials found that one individual was reportedly operating three madrasas while showing six institutions in official records. According to the inquiry, three institutions were allegedly being run under the junior category and three under the primary category. Mid-day meal assistance to these institutions has presently been stopped and officials indicated that stricter administrative action may follow after completion of the inquiry.
Officials said the inquiry committee constituted by the DM would now examine enrolment records, attendance registers and financial utilisation linked to welfare schemes in greater detail. The administration is also expected to verify whether government funds meant for students were drawn against inflated or non-existent enrolments.
