An upper primary school for girls in a West Garo Hills village has been receiving government grants since 1992 but there is just one problem – locals know of no such school in the area.
This was brought to public attention by the All Meghalaya Minority Students Union (AMMSU), which rushed off a complaint to the authorities regarding the imaginary BPN Zaman Girls UP School, which is supposed to be located in Phersakandi, under Dadenggre subdivision.
“The school has been shown to be situated in the village of Phersakandi but, being locals of the place, we ourselves could not find the school or any sign of it ever being here,” AMMSU President Nur Islam said.
According to official documents, the school was opened in 1988 and started receiving grants in aid from the Education Department since 1992.
“These people (behind the fake school) have been fooling the state and misusing public funds for decades. It’s obvious that this is being done with the help of someone from the department. To think that they have been making a mockery of the entire system since 1992 is criminal. No one in the village has heard of or studied in this school,” Islam said.