DEOs asked not to leave station without permission
WILL HAVE TO SHARE THEIR LIVE LOCATION IN OFFICIAL WHATSAPP GROUP AT NIGHT
JALANDHAR: Annoyed over repeated reports of absenteeism, the state education department has directed all district education officers (DEOs) in the state not to leave their place of work without permission.
The directorate of public instructions has also asked them to share their live location in an official WhatsApp group at night failing which action will be taken against them.
A circular issued by the directorate on Thursday said that it has come to notice that some district education officerss are commuting out of their allotted stations without permission of the competent authority.
Earlier on January 24, the education secretary had directed district education officers to obtain station leave before leaving the station, either from him or from director general school education (DGSE), director of public instructions (DPI), secondary and primary.
“In order to ensure compliance of the instructions of secretary, school education, it is directed that no district education officer will leave the station without permission of the competent authority. Thus, henceforth all the DEOs will upload their live location between 8 pm to 9 pm on the WhatsApp group on daily basis,” the circular says.
It adds, “In case any DEO does not comply with the instructions, it will be presumed that he has left the station in violation of the instructions, which may invite strict disciplinary action against the defaulters.”
The move came after the education department found that most of the officers usually leave their stations after office hours as they belonged to other districts.
A district education officer from Doaba region, seeking anonymity, said, “The directive impacts the privacy of officers. Many officers are already feeling stressed due to overwork and this order will put an extra pressure on them.”
DPI (secondary) Sukhjitpal Singh was not available for his comments despite HT’s repeated attempts.