In what is symptomatic of the general state of affairs of the education system in Madhya Pradesh, a Class 8 dropout was caught teaching at a primary school at Devli, 45 km from Khargone district headquarters.

The accused, identified as Dayal Singh, claimed that he was paid Rs 4,000 per month by a government teacher posted to the Devli school to teach students.

The incident came to light when deputy district collector Rahul Chouhan made a surprise visit on Thursday to find Singh teaching the students. He revealed the truth after he failed to answer queries raised by Rahul Chouhan.

Chouhan said Dayal Singh confessed that he was standing for government teacher Rameshwar Rawat who he said had been paying him Rs 4,000 per month for performing his duties. Both teachers, Rameshwar Rawat and Jhabbar Singh, posted to the Devli school were found absent.

The deputy collector also checked the attendance register and found that two teachers had not marked their attendance during the past one week. On being questioned, Dayal Singh told the deputy collector that two teachers came to mark their attendance once in 15 days. Twenty-three children were present in primary school when the surprise check was conducted.

The deputy collector later called villagers to enquire about the two missing teachers. The villagers also told him that the two were hardly seen at school.

The two teachers have been suspended and a case has been marked to the sub divisional officer. An inquiry has been ordered.

On action against the Singh, the district administration said appropriate action will be taken only after the SDM completed inquiry.

Also read | MP: 16 govt school teachers forced to leave after failing eligibility test

Also read | Madhya Pradesh school takes back expelled students after CM Kamal Nath steps in