Malegaon – Waseem Raza Khan
During the ongoing Legislative Assembly session on Tuesday, Malegaon Central constituency MLA Mufti Mohammad Ismail (AIMIM) questioned Education Minister Dada Bhuse, demanding an end to the alleged multi-crore corruption by institution operators and education officials in Malegaon city. While Mufti Ismail also discussed other local issues, Education Minister Dada Bhuse himself acknowledged his demands regarding corruption in the education sector and assured action.
Mufti Ismail stated that while some individuals have faced criminal charges, they are merely “small fish.” He emphasized that “big fish” – the institution operators and education department officials in Malegaon – should also face action. In response, Dada Bhuse, making a sarcastic remark about the “fish,” said, “I am a vegetarian, but I will definitely take action against the big fish.” A few days prior to this session, MLA Ismail had met with Education Minister Dada Bhuse and submitted a memorandum of his demands, which Dada Bhuse acknowledged in the assembly, promising to take action against those involved to eradicate corruption.
Corruption at its Peak
For the past few years, numerous cases of multi-crore corruption by most institution operators in Malegaon Central through various methods, defrauding the government, have come to light. Major corrupt practices, such as embezzlement of government funds related to mid-day meals, taking lakhs from candidates for teacher recruitment and appointing them, or drawing teachers’ salaries by showing fake documents, are rampant in Malegaon city.
Institution operators have been colluding with senior department officials to embezzle crores. Some of the city’s large and renowned institutions are also involved in these activities. If any social worker from the city demands action against them, these individuals attempt to involve them in the corruption or resort to threats.
This trend began a few years ago when a major city institution, Anjuman Taleem Jamhoor, was found to be involved in the embezzlement of lakhs of rupees related to mid-day meal grains and teachers’ funds. More recently, the Sardar High School also came under scrutiny for issues related to teacher recruitment and misappropriation of teachers’ pending dues.
MLA Mufti Ismail has raised these issues in the Legislative Assembly, and now it remains to be seen when and how Minister Dada Bhuse will take action in this matter. It is imperative that all major schools in the city be investigated, that those found guilty in cases where action has been taken receive strict punishment, and that the embezzled funds be recovered from the institution operators, responsible headmasters, and concerned officials, which could potentially amount to hundreds or thousands of crores.
