Here’s taking a look at the Enforcement Directorate’s ongoing investigations into scams in the education sector.
Image: IANS
Multiple scams of up to ₹4,000 crore in the education sector are being investigated by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). Among these involve cases related to alleged fake admissions, paper leaks, scholarship frauds as well as recruitment scams.
The central agency has attached assets worth ₹1,500 crore, while several people have been arrested across multiple cities, as per The Hindu.
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Recently, the ED took into custody Al-Falah Group chief Jawad Ahmad Siddiqui for his alleged role in the use of forged papers for acquiring land in Delhi.
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On Saturday, a Delhi court sent the Al-Falah University’s chairman to three days’ custody of the anti-terror Special Cell of Delhi Police after he was formally arrested in connection with a case related to the November 10, 2025, car blast near Red Fort.
Earlier, he was booked for alleged laundering of funds related to the Al-Falah Charitable Trust, Al-Falah University as well as associated institutions and entities.
It has been alleged that the institutions in question had projected expired NAAC accreditations as valid to induce admissions. Moreover, they showed the university as recognised under Section 12(B) of the University Grants Commission Act.
Major teachers’ scam
In West Bengal, the Enforcement Directorate has attached properties worth over ₹151 crore in the alleged primary teachers’ scam. In connection with the matter, seven people have been arrested, including former Education Minister Partha Chatterjee and his aide Arpita Mukherjee.
Another case from the state is related to the hiring of assistant teachers for Classes IX-XII, wherein the central agency has frozen assets worth ₹238.8 crore, according to The Hindu.
As per reports, among those arrested include Santi Prasad Sinha, Prasanna Kumar Roy, and Jiban Krishna Saha.
Notably, the Supreme Court had on April 3 last year upheld the Calcutta High Court’s cancellation of 25,000 appointments.
Scams in construction of Delhi school clasrooms
In 2025, the Enforcement Directorate began looking into alleged financial irregularities worth ₹2,000 crore in the construction of more than 12,000 classrooms as well as semi-permanent structures for government schools in the national capital. This was done during Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP government’s tenure from 2015 to 2023, with former ministers Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain being under the radar.
Also, the agency is reportedly probing alleged fraudulent blocking of seats in private engineering colleges in Karnataka.
Apart from these, there are scholarship frauds as well.
In Himachal Pradesh, private institutions had allegedly siphoned government scholarships that were intended for SC, ST, OBC, and minority students. The accused are believed to have created ghost students and fabricated records to claim funds under post-matric scholarship schemes. In this matter, six persons were arrested and several properties were attached.
Similarly, in Uttar Pradesh, the Hygia Group reportedly claimed Central and State scholarships by forging student data.
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