A row has erupted after the chief education officer (CEO) of Jammu and Kashmir’s Baramulla directed all teaching and non-teaching staff to refrain from criticising government policies on social media platforms, warning them of punitive action including dismissal from service.
In a meeting on Friday, a discussion was held over various instances of misuse of social media platforms by teaching and non-teaching staff, the office said.
The meeting was chaired by the education department administrative secretary who directed all chief education officers to bring to the notice of the administration any such violation without fail in order to fix responsibly, news agency PTI reported.
In the circular that was issued on October 4, CEO of Baramulla directed all the employees of school education department of the district to strictly adhere to the guidelines and refrain from “indulging in unwarranted debates and discussions and avoid sharing commenting or posting inappropriate content on social media platforms”, adding that such acts as interference in the policy matters of the department.
“The activities are purely violation of circular instructions issued by the government” in 2023, he said.
The circular on social media posts allows for punishments for violations, including censure, fine not exceeding one month’s pay, withholding increments and/or promotion, demotion, recovery from pay of the whole or part of any pecuniary loss caused to government by negligence or breach of orders, premature retirement and removal from the services of the state, the news agency further said.
The circular also mentioned that employees are not barred from using social media and they can use these platforms for “positive and constructive purposes”.
Pulwama MLA and People’s Democratic Party leader Waheed Para slammed the order, saying it stops people from “raising their voices”, as he hit out at the government for issuing the order, and said it should be revoked.
Para said that the order is widely condemned by journalists, civil society groups and political leaders for its authoritarian undertones.
“In an already numb Jammu and Kashmir, this order by the J-K govt’s education dept warning teachers and govt staff against raising their voices, is deeply concerning. A govt that came to power on the promise of giving people a voice is now contributing to silencing the few remaining ones in Jammu and Kashmir,” Para wrote in a post on his official X handle and added a copy of the circular, tagging chief minister Omar Abdullah and minister Sakina Itoo. There was no immediate reaction from them.
He said the J&K government had earlier informed the UT assembly that it is drafting a new media policy aimed at regulating digital platforms, including social media and news websites, “following the much-criticised 2020 New Media Policy formulated by the BJP”. It was approved under by the administration of the Lt Governor, a central government nominee.
