No biometric installed, no salary, warn education authorities in Samba
The biometric attendance matter has invoked controversy in the Samba zone of Jammu region as the authorities have warned that no biometric installation means no withdrawal of salaries and installing the devices out of the school funds.
However, in schools where funds are not available, expenditure shall be made from own resources, read an order issued by the Zonal Education Officer, Vijaypur.
However, the Jammu and Kashmir Border Area Development Conference, has condemned and demanded revocation of ‘illogical’ order issued by Zonal Education Office of Vijaypur wherein he has asked the Teachers/headmasters of the Primary and Middle Schools to arrange funds at their own for installation of Biometric attendance machines in government schools.
As per the order, all the Heads of the institutions of Middle and Primary Schools of Vijaypur Zone are directed to install the Bio-metric attendance system upto August 20 and if not installed till date, their salary for the Month of August shall be withheld by treasury.
“Moreover those schools who have installed the system and the system is working properly, they shall intimate the name of their school to this office for further submission to higher authority,” read an order.
The previous order said that doubt has been created by most of HOIs of MS and PS for installation of Biometric system and thus it is clarified that as per the verbal message from coordinator of NIC only Aadhar Based biometric attendance system is valid.
“So, every institution shall install only the Aadhar based attendance system and not the mobile based system. So for this purpose only a computer plus Biometric fingerprint scanner is needed,” it read.
“The expenditure for this purpose shall made out of any fund available in their institutions and those institutions where there is no fund available, expenditure shall made from own resources,” the order read and said, “but it is impressed upon all HOI that Bio Metric system shall be made operative in the school within five days without any fail otherwise salary for the month of August shall be withheld by the higher authority.”
Meanwhile BADC Chairman, Dr Shazad Malik in a statement said that the order subsequent reminder issued by the office of ZEO Vijaypur termed it as ‘despotic order’.
He questioned the logic of the ZEO in issuing such an order for putting financial burden on innocent teachers for purchase of computers and biometric attendance machines & for issuing warnings/threats to withhold their salary.
“We urge the Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and Deputy Commissioner Samba to quash and revoke illogical order as under no circumstances teachers or any other government employee can be compelled to spend money from their own pocket for any purchase in any government office or institution,” he said.
