Repatriation of Attached School Staff Poses Operational Challenge for Education Department
Srinagar, May 22, The School Education Department (SED) of Jammu and Kashmir is grappling with a major challenge in effectively managing its human resources, as the practice of deploying teaching and non-teaching staff to offices outside the department continues unabated despite repeated government directives.
In a strongly worded communication issued this week, the Directorate of School Education Kashmir (DSEK) has expressed serious concern over the persistent non-compliance of repatriation orders at the district level. It has termed the unauthorized deployment of school staff to other government departments as an “uninformed practice” that has severely disrupted the functioning of the education sector.
The DSEK has reminded all Chief Education Officers (CEOs) in the Kashmir division that Deputy Commissioners were earlier instructed to restrict the use of education department staff for administrative roles outside schools. Any requirement for staff by other departments, it emphasized, must be routed through the Directorate or the Administrative Department for approval.
“Teaching or non-teaching staff presently deployed in any office without authorization must be immediately recalled to their original postings,” the DSEK order states, warning that failure to comply will result in withholding of salaries by the concerned Drawing and Disbursing Officers (DDOs). The department has also cited provisions under the J&K Civil Service Regulations, 1956, to initiate disciplinary action against defaulters.
In parallel, the Directorate of School Education Jammu (DSEJ) has also taken strong exception to the continued attachment of school staff to non-education offices without prior approval. In an official order, the DSEJ said this unauthorized deployment is exacerbating the already existing staff shortages in schools, particularly at a time when the education sector is preparing for the new academic session across both winter and summer zones.
The DSEJ has ordered immediate repatriation of all such staff and directed DDOs to ensure that salaries are only released upon verification of biometric or facial attendance records at their designated school postings. It also directed all CEOs in the Jammu division to identify employees who fail to report back and initiate disciplinary action against them.
“An action taken report must be submitted to this Directorate by or before May 30, 2025,” the directive concludes.
Both DSEK and DSEJ have reaffirmed that government instructions clearly restrict the deployment of teaching and non-teaching staff outside the education department, and reiterated that strict compliance is essential for the smooth functioning of schools already burdened with acute staff shortages.
