The regional deputy director of education (RDDE), Kolhan, has slapped showcause notices on six government aided schools in Jamshedpur and Potka block of East Singhbhum district after a surprise inspection revealed several shortcomings, including unscheduled absence of teachers.

Regional deputy director Arvind Vijay Wilung, who issued the showcause notices on April 10, has pulled up three schools, namely, Utkal Samaj Uchcha Vidyalaya-Golmuri, Adarsh High School-Kadma and Adarsh Uchcha Vidyalaya-Jeruwala (Potka) for allowing students of other schools to appear for Class IX examinations conducted by Jharkhand Academic Council (JAC).

While Palli Mangal Uchcha Vidyalaya-Shantipur (Potka) was showcaused for absence of teachers and other staff on a working day, Indira Vidya Jyoti Uchcha Vidyalaya-Harharguttu and Faizul Uloom High School-Dhatkidih were showcaused for unscheduled closure of their schools

The showcause notices, issued after Wilung's surprise inspection on March 24, also mention that the schools could lose their affiliations if they failed to furnish a proper reply to explain their lapses.

"The RDDE, along with the education department, had inspected a number of schools on March 24 when JAC was conducting Class IX annual examinations. The RDDE found several anomalies. In some schools, the number of students appearing for the exam were found to be more than the number of students on rolls. We also found some schools closed while some did not even have teachers," a senior official of the East Singhbhum education department said, explaining the reasons behind the notices.

The official iterated that if the department found the schools to be at fault, they would recommend de-affiliation.

However, A.K. Dutta, the headmaster of Utkal Samaj Uchcha Vidyalaya-Golmuri that's been accused of allowing students of other schools to appear in Class IX examinations, denied the charge.

He said some students were appearing for the exam in coloured clothes, as opposed to school uniforms, and were mistaken to be students of another school.

"The government only distributes uniforms till Class VIII. There were some new students who did not wear uniforms while they were sitting for the Class IX exams. They weren't students of another school. We will reply to the notice soon," Dutta said.