JAMMU: The School Education Department of Jammu and Kashmir has demoted two educationists, Anita Sharma and Raman Chanyal, who secured promotions using fraudulent postgraduate degrees. Sharma and Chanyal, both serving as principals of higher secondary schools in Sarna and Samba respectively have been asked to resume their duties as teachers after their bogus degrees were discovered by the department. An investigation by the department revealed that both the teachers had claimed to have obtained postgraduate degrees in Chemistry from Magadh University in 2003 while the institution didn’t offer any such course at that time. The disciplinary action comes after it was discovered that Sharma and Chanyal had advanced in their careers based on falsified academic credentials. Sharma was promoted to the position of in-charge lecturer in 2004, following which she was posted at Government Higher Secondary School in Mansar. However, her failure to provide original qualification documents led to the suspension of her allowances between 2004 and 2006. Official reports divulged that the School Education Department issued an order on March 5, instructing the Chief Education Officers of Samba and Kathua districts to reassign Sharma and Chanyal to teaching roles. Both teachers have been directed to report to the office of the Chief Education Officer in their respective districts.
