From Welfare To Fraud: How A Coaching Scheme Went Off Track

A scheme that was meant to support students has now come under serious scrutiny.

The Jai Bhim Mukhyamantri Pratibha Vikas Yojana was launched in 2017 with just 8 empanelled coaching institutes, helping around 5,000 students. By 2019, it expanded rapidly, reaching nearly 22,000 beneficiaries.

But investigators say this expansion also opened the door to large-scale misuse.

The probe has found evidence of fake admissions, duplicate entries, and forged documents. Nearly 1,000 listed beneficiaries are now suspected to be non-existent.

Funds were released by the government for coaching fees and student stipends. However, instead of using separate, dedicated bank accounts as required, institutes allegedly routed money through common operational accounts. This made tracking difficult and weakened financial oversight.

In many cases, students did not receive their stipends at all.

There were also serious governance lapses. Proper tendering procedures were not followed while selecting institutes. Scrutiny was limited, and the Department of Education was reportedly not involved in verification.

Basic safeguards were missing. There was no Aadhaar linkage, and physical inspections were minimal. This allowed irregularities to continue unchecked.

On the ground, the situation was equally concerning. Some institutes without basic infrastructure were still allowed to enrol students. In several cases, students were sent to small local tuition centres, while payments were claimed under the names of bigger coaching institutes.

What began as a welfare initiative to support education now appears to have been undermined by weak systems and poor oversight.