Agra: In the last 12 years, 4,570 candidates allegedly managed to get appointed as teachers in state government-run primary schools using fake BEd mark sheets of Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar University. Following recommendations of the Allahabad High Court-monitored Special Investigation Team (SIT) concerning the mark sheet scam at the university, a directive has gone out to basic shiksha adhikaris (BSAs) of all districts to take legal action against such teachers, whose names and details have been collected. They are likely to be dismissed, officials said.

Assistant director (basic education) Girijesh Chaudhary said, “The state government has sent us details of fake BEd degree holders of Agra University. BSAs have been directed to take legal action against teachers who got appointed on basis of these degrees. We are to send a report on this to higher authorities within a week.”

The fake certificates are connected to the Bed course of the 2004-05 session at the university. Of the 8,000 certificates issued for the session, an SIT report in 2016 had found 5,332 to be fake. Following a thorough investigation, the SIT had found that 4,570 of the fake degree holders had been appointed as teachers in government-run schools.

The SIT team also seized confidential records of the BEd results and prepared a list of all officials and employees who were on duty at the examination cell during 2004-05. Signatures of several officials and employees were found on confidential records, on the basis of which 30 people have been found guilty, an official informed. Out of these four were arrested by SIT in Lucknow on October 24, including superintendent of the degree section Swami Saran, record room staffer Satendra Pal Singh, office in-charge for BA first year Laxman Singh and document dispatcher Saket Prasad. They were suspended by the university administration on Saturday.

The investigation also revealed that several affiliated colleges of the university ‘sold’ fake marksheets. According to sources, the SIT team is probing the involvement of 84 colleges.