The Director of Elementary Education, Government of Tamil Nadu, has suspended the headmistress of a Panchayat Union Primary School in Pammadhukulam near Villivakkam in Tiruvallur district of the state for allegedly inflating the student enrollment figures.

Sources shared that the state government incurred significant monetary loss as the inflated enrollment figure led to the wrong fixation of student-teacher ratio, stated a report by The New Indian Express.

The Block Educational Officer (BEO) of Villivakkam block has also been suspended for failing to monitor and inspect the functioning of the school.

Officials said that on a particular day, the HM reported 432 out of a total of 566 students attended the school. However, later, upon inspection, it was found that only as many as 219 children attended the school on that particular day which was in contention.

Sources added that the headmistress allegedly inflated the student count in order to retain a high number of teaching staff at the primary school who are taking classes and carrying out duties.

As per the real enrollment figure, the school should have had eight teachers, but as many as 16 teachers are employed at the school, stated The New Indian Express report.