Nashik: An administrator has been appointed to as many as 28 schools run by the Mahatma Gandhi Vidya Mandir (MGV), an educational institution associated with the politically influential Hiray family, citing irregularities and financial mismanagement. The decision is being viewed as a major setback for the family. According to available information, the order was issued by the director of education, Dr Mahesh Palkar.
During an inquiry conducted in April last year by the Secondary Education Department of the Nashik Zilla Parishad, several irregularities were detected. The probe revealed serious issues such as discrepancies between the official student enrolment and actual attendance, approval of additional teacher posts by inflating student numbers, and receiving higher funds under the school mid-day meal scheme by exaggerating the student count on paper.
The investigation also found cases where teachers working in one school were drawing salaries from another school. Administrative negligence regarding student safety was also noted. The report warned that such conditions could adversely affect students’ education.
Following the district council’s inquiry, the education department issued show-cause notices to the school management. The Deputy Director of Education in Nashik also recommended to the Directorate of Education that administrators be appointed for the secondary schools.
Before issuing the order, the director of education conducted separate hearings for the schools concerned and gave the institution’s management an opportunity to present its side. After reviewing the case, orders were issued appointing administrators to 28 secondary schools.
Mahatma Gandhi Vidya Mandir is considered to be associated with the influential Hiray family. Former minister Prashant Hire serves as the institution’s secretary. Though he is not very active politically, his two sons, Dr Apoorva Hiray and Advay Hiray, are associated with the Bharatiya Janata Party, while his daughter-in-law, Yogita Apoorva Hiray, is a corporator in the Nashik Municipal Corporation.
Meanwhile, the long-standing political rivalry between the Hiray family and Maharashtra’s School Education Minister Dadaji Bhuse is widely known. There is quite a speculation that the move to appoint administrators in the schools linked to the Hire family may have a political angle. Observers in the education sector are now closely watching.
