J A L A N D H A R    E D I T I O N

PSEB manager, assistant suspended
Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, July 1
Sucheta Kalia, manager of the local Punjab School Education Board, has been suspended, along with senior assistant Randhir Singh, by the Punjab School Education Board authorities. The two were suspended under Section 16(1) of the Punjab School Education Board Regulations Act, following a controversy in which the manager, along with another helper, had been found minting money from students in the name of fees for compartment board forms.

A two-member inquiry team constituted by the PSEB authorities had carried out inspections at the local depot on Friday and a report submitted in this regard to the board secretary Dr Balwinder Singh had mentioned grave discrepancies regarding the working of the centre. Talking to The Tribune here today, Dr Balwinder Singh said, “The board found glaring irregularities in the records maintained by the two officers. A local fund auditor has to certify the cash register being used at the office but that wasn’t done. While officials are not supposed to take the receipts outside the PSEB office, the receipts found with the board manager’s accomplice (who was arrested) at the makeshift Adarsh Nagar office had clearly been taken out of the office. The receipts were also not signed, in a blatant violation of board rules. 

The records had not been maintained properly.” “While some receipts are still to be found, as soon as we trace all of them, the board will recover the money earned unlawfully by both officials,” he added. Dr Balwinder also said the board would be on the lookout for any such violations in the future and such irregularities will not be tolerated. With the said officials suspended, Jeet Singh Cheema, board manager of the PSEB’s Kapurthala depot, has been handed over the additional charge of the Jalandhar centre. He will share his duties between the Jalandhar (three days) and Kapurthala (two days) centres.