Tainted teachers’ termination stands: Rymbui

Even as the recent court decision to quash criminal proceedings against a former minister and senior officials in the controversial “White Ink” education scam has reignited public debate, the Meghalaya government on Monday made it clear that the termination of teachers identified as “tainted” remains firmly in place, drawing a sharp legal distinction between the two developments.
Education Minister Lahkmen Rymbui said the dismissal of criminal charges has no bearing on the fate of those teachers whose appointments were invalidated by judicial scrutiny, underlining that the government is bound by the High Court’s ruling on the recruitment process.
Talking to media persons in Shillong, Rymbui said, “There are two separate issues, the first issue is that the court has declared some of the teachers during the process of that requirement to be tainted and those tainted teachers have to be terminated and that stands as of now. Regarding the other case, that is the criminal case against the officials and higher ups (former minister), but in that case, the highcourt have quashed up criminal case, so these are the two different things.”
He further stated that the issue of termination of those tainted teachers stands as of now, as it has been carried out in accordance with the court’s judgment.
The scam, dating back to 2008-09, involved allegations of manipulation of marks using white correction fluid to favour certain candidates in the recruitment of Lower Primary school teachers. Following investigations by the Central Bureau of Investigation, the fallout has been significant, with more than 500 teachers losing their jobs over multiple phases.
While 246 teachers were removed in the initial phase based on the first CBI report, another 260 were terminated in June 2020 after further scrutiny of recruitment centres, reinforcing the scale of irregularities uncovered in the process.
In September 2025, the High Court discharged former minister Ampareen Lyngdoh and several senior officials.
Maintaining that the two legal tracks cannot be conflated, the minister reiterated that while the criminal case against officials has collapsed due to insufficient evidence, the termination of teachers deemed “tainted” remains legally valid and enforceable, leaving no scope for reversal at present.