EPMR via Portal : Necessary Evil For Performers

The Jammu and Kashmir government is always committed to make its all departments more transparent, accountable, vibrant and proactive so that public services are being provided to the people at ease and hassle free. For providing its all citizens hassle free, easy and accessible services, the Jammu and Kashmir government has implemented most central laws and adopted comprehensive citizen friendly policies and schemes in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. they has brought many positives changes in all its departments for the benefit of all stakeholders like Biometric attendance, EPM portal, JKHRM, PFMS, JkPaysys, e office project etc. the shifting of traditional way to digital mode of services aims to improve transparency, accountability and wok culture among all its officials besides to bridge the divide by giving all citizens access to authentic and digitally available information. Few months back, the Jammu and Kashmir government passed a remarkable order for all its employees directing them to upload their monthly performance report on the Employee Performance Monitoring Portal. The main aim of the submission of monthly Employees Performance Monitoring Report is to increase the work culture, transparency, accountability and impartiality among all the employees and to reduce corruption and malpractices besides to identify deadwood employees for their golden handshake so that all the goals of good governance for the benefits of public at larger interest are achieved. The performance reports submitted by the employees are assessed by the concerned reporting or controlling officers who are allotting marks to employees on the basis of their monthly performances. Although the registration on the said portal has been done successfully by all the employees of all departments, the marks allotted to the employees by concerned reporting or controlling officers particularly in the school education department are given on the basis of facial expressions rather than monthly work done and performances. As far as the department of education is concerned, the work done and achievements submitted by the teachers for many months have been ignored by most of the concerned reporting or controlling officers. It is pertinent to mention that those teachers who render their duties honestly and give best to students and the department in all-round development are being allotted fewer marks than officials who hardly deliver classes or do not deliver as per the expectations of students. It is an irony on part of such so-called controlling officers who are awarding fewer marks to hardworking teachers due to their incompetency and unawareness of rules and regulations of the government. The hardworking and impartial teachers in the education department are always on mission mode to take their schools to new heights by their innovative and inspiring teaching mythologies’ in classrooms, actively participating in cultural and sports activities and contributing sincerely in all round school development activities. Such honest and hardworking teachers’ are also avoiding school leaves just for the welfare of students and awarding fewer marks to such hardworking teachers on their good performance speaks volumes of incompetent and inefficient controlling officers. The unaware and incompetent controlling officers only want to promote and boost those officials who have poor performances in the department instead of hardworking officials’ with evergreen performances by their dedication, devotion, determination, hard work, patience, perseverance and passion. They are supporting and creating a corrupt and malicious work culture in schools and offices that are putting the students and hardworking officials in trouble and inconvenience.
Supporting wrongs by incompetent officers raises many genuine questions like what is the fun of submitting good performance reports by the hardworking teachers on the EPM portal. Is the EPM report submission meant for weeding out transparent, accountable and hardworking teachers? Are controlling officers directed by the higher authorities to allot marks to officials at their own whims and interests? Are controlling officers so incompetent and inefficient that they do not know the importance of work culture, transparency, accountability and impartiality due their shortsightedness’. The official who raises genuine questions regarding transparency, accountability, impartiality and equality in the department is looked down upon and he or she may face for speaking the truth in the form of transfer or deputation to some other place directly or indirectly. There are also many controlling officers who have set examples for others in the education department like the worthy Principal government girls’ higher secondary school Beerwah namely Mr. Mukhtar Ahmad Shah who is the man of principles and has earned name and fame across the district for his leadership qualities. He has been allotting marks to his officials based only on the work culture and performances of officials without any conflict of interest. It is pertinent to mention that Mr. Mukhtar Ahmad shah himself is a very regular, punctual and hardworking officer and has taken his own institution to new heights in terms of academics, development and other activities. The higher officials in the education department should wake up early and know the facts of what is happening with the hardworking officials at the ground level. They should also identify dead controlling officials who are putting careers of impartial and hardworking officials at stake due to their incompetency and lack of leadership qualities. Establishment of impartial compliant and grievance redress mechanism system at zonal and chief education office level is urgently needed which is currently lacking in the department due to unknown reasons. Due to lack of compliant and grievance redressal mechanism system at zonal and district level, the incompetent and corrupt officials have spread wings in the department and muzzled the voice of hardworking and accountable teaching officials. Installation of CCTV cameras in all educational offices and classrooms and linking biometric attendance with higher education offices can help in identifying chaff from grains including dead controlling officers. Let’s hope that the higher education officials will note the genuine concerns and issues of the real nation builders so that hardworking officials in the department may not face the handshake by the hands of unaware and incompetent controlling or reporting officers in the future in the name of the Employees Performance Monthly Report.
(The author is at teacher at Govt Boys Higher Secondary School Beerwa in Central Kashmir’s Budgam district. The views, opinions, facts, assumptions, presumptions and conclusions expressed in this article are author’s own and aren’t necessarily in accord with the views of “Kashmir Horizon”.)
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