Dead teacher taking classes in state government run school in J&K!

A senior Education Department official attributed the mistake to failure on part of officials of the Directorate of School Education to update the status of principals posted at state government run higher secondary schools.

Incredible it may sound, but an already dead teacher figured among principals of 39 government higher secondary schools whose transfer orders were issued by the School Education Department on Thursday. Showing Ashok Kumar posted as Principal Government Higher Secondary School, Ramnagar in Udhampur district, the government order No. 613-Edu of 2017 at serial No. 3 says that he stands transferred and posted as HOD (head of department) DIET, Kud in place of Bimal Rai.
Ashok Kumar, a renowned educationist, hailed from village Thapplal in Ramnagar tehsil of Udhampur district. He had died of heart attack in July this year.
A senior Education Department official attributed the mistake to failure on part of officials of the Directorate of School Education to update the status of principals posted at state government run higher secondary schools. A correction was made the moment this mistake came to the notice of the department, he added.
There are nearly 900 higher secondary schools across the state and Directorate of School Education at both Jammu and in the Valley have to update the status of staff including principals posted there every month. However, in the instant case, they did not inform Education Department officials at the civil secretariat about the death of Ashok Kumar, sources added.
Significantly, this has not been the first instance where Education Department has committed a goof-up bringing embarrassment to the government. During budget discussion In June last year, members in the State Legislative Assembly were taken aback when a ruling Peoples Democratic Party MLA Raja Manzoor Dar said that a teacher Hashim from Karnah assembly constituency in North Kashmir took 18 years to prove that he is alive.
A government employee by the name Hashim from Karnah constituency under mistaken identity was declared dead in official records, the legislator had pointed out, emphasizing the need to make government officials accountable.
Director School Education, Jammu, Ravinder Singh, who assumed charge of the office recently, said that he has instructed the officials to update the status of staff posted at schools every month and inform the administrative department accordingly.