State makes fund transfer foolproof under ‘Taruner Swapna’ scheme

Kolkata: The state government has enhanced the security features of ‘Banglar Siksha’ portal in the backdrop of stray cases of irregularities associated with transfer of money under ‘Taruner Swapna’ scheme last year.

Now, one will be able to log in to the portal only through ID and password and OTP will be sent to the mobile number.

The Education department has recently communicated to the District Inspector of Schools (DIs) in the form of a notification about the entire process. It has directed the headmasters of the schools to send relevant details before their respective circle inspectors. The information should include the headmaster/ teacher-in-charge‘s name, phone number and Aadhaar number. The dateline has been fixed for April 10, 20 and 25 respectively. The department will use artificial intelligence for integration of names and accordingly password generation will be made. The new login process will then start.

At the time of logging in, an OTP will be sent to the mobile number of the concerned headmaster whose name will be integrated. Hence, any unwanted log-in into the portal can be ruled out. A headmaster would be responsible if any irregularity crops up during money transfer under Taruner Swapna scheme.

The scheme provides financial assistance of Rs 10,000 to students of Class XI and XII for purchasing tablets, smartphones, or PCs. The money gets credited to the bank account of the beneficiary.

Last year, in a handful of cases, the cash transfer landed up in bank accounts of people who were not the genuine beneficiaries. The state, however, took corrective measures and ensured that the genuine beneficiaries received their share.

The police had arrested some persons, including headmasters, for such irregularities following which the state took steps for making the fund transfer process foolproof.