Muzaffarapur: A widespread fraud involving online attendance marking by schoolteachers has come to light in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur district. An internal probe has uncovered that many teachers have been logging their presence through the e-Shiksha Kosh app while not actually being present in school.
In some cases, teachers marked their attendance in vests, while others repeatedly uploaded the same photo in the same clothes for up to 10 days. Officials discovered the scam during a random audit of attendance data from November 2024 to April 2025.
Shockingly, it was found that attendance photos and videos were often taken on another person’s mobile device, with some teachers uploading old videos where school premises are visible to fake their presence. The scam has involved schools in Gaighat, Saraiya, Aurai, and other blocks of Muzaffarpur.
In one case from Siuri Saraiya, a teacher marked attendance in a vest and appeared in different outfits while entering and exiting the school – indicating manipulation of both location and visuals. Several teachers also removed GPS data from photos and uploaded doctored images through alternative devices.
District Education Officer Ajay Kumar Singh confirmed that hundreds of teachers are under scrutiny, and explanations have been sought within three days. Disciplinary action is expected following the findings.
