Rs 57 Lakh Minority Scholarship Scam In Madhya Pradesh

A huge scholarship scam of lakhs has been unearthed in Madhya Pradesh, wherein over 40 madrasas and minority schools in Bhopal appeared to have diverted government funds by enrolling phantom or ineligible students. NDTV's investigation on the ground raises giant questions: Were the students ever real - or just names on a sheet of paper?

NDTV journalists started their inquiry at the given address of "City Montessori School" close to Aam Wali Masjid in Bhopal - one of the schools to be probed by the Crime Branch. But there was no school there. What we found instead were empty lanes, lonely school boards, and ultimately a board of "City Montessori" on Chiklod Road. Under the board? No classrooms, no students, just a locked, vacant building. Locals attested: the school never operated. "They rented space on lease and erected a board. Never was there any class held here," said one who lived in the area. "I have lived here all my life. That board is up for years, yet no school ever materialized," Mohammad Salim added.

But records reveal that the school spent Rs 1.65 lakh in scholarship on 29 students of Classes 1 to 8.

The scam is not over yet. Most of these institutions short-changed - some up to Class 8 - had withdrawn students' scholarships in their names under Classes 11 and 12. The figures are mind-boggling - Rs 57.78 lakh withdrawn, names of 972 students misused, more than 100 education institutions in the spotlight. "We have registered 40 FIRs against the operators of schools and madrasas," Additional Deputy Commission of Police Shailendra Singh Chauhan said. "If it is found that even the students themselves do not exist, stricter legal action will be pursued."

The scam has sparked a political war. The opposition went after the BJP government, labeling it another scam in the series of education scams. "Scams have taken place in all fields, from Vyapam to nursing," grieved former Congress minister PC Sharma. "The money needs to be reclaimed and distributed to those who require it."

Krishna Gaur, the Minority Welfare Minister, stayed away from the controversy. "These grievances were expressed in the previous tenure," she said. "The central government is probing the matter. Our department is also assisting and has forwarded the information requested."

NDTV's reality check has found a bitter irony - the very children for whom this scheme was designed, never availed. While paper names and schools siphoned off government funds, thousands of poor children who really need it are left in the lurch. For when schemes are derailed on paper, it is not only tax payers' funds that are sidetracked - it is a poor child's chance at a better tomorrow.