Alappuzha: Numerous malpractices have been detected related to the appointments from Kerala Public Service Commission’s (PSC) rank-list for school teachers published in 2002. In the latest development, details of teachers who were appointed in the post of assistant in lower primary (LP) and upper primary (UP) schools have been found missing from the office of the Deputy Director of Education (DDE) in Alappuzha.

Recently, a query under the Right to Information (RTI) Act had revealed that T Preetha of Kayamkulam, who had rank 74 on the list, was appointed after some others with lower ranks. In reply to another RTI enquiry, the DDE office has now said that documents related to appointment of UP and LP assistant teachers and cadre strength register during the term of this rank-list were missing.

Meanwhile, foul play is suspected in the disappearance of appointment details regarding a teacher, who received posting violating norms, from the records in the DDE office, including her service book. The DDE office’s reply said that the advice memo for appointment issued to this teacher, who joined service in 2004, and the order regularising her appointment were destroyed in 2009. This matter was also recorded in the ‘destroyal register’, informed the DDE office. The destruction of service records, which are among the documents which should not be destroyed, within five years of the employee joining service remains suspicious.

The DDE office said that the appointment order and related documents were also not found in the service book. It is alleged that the DDE office’s reply suggests that the fraud took place with the involvement of the employees there.