day after the Baramulla Chief Education Officer (CEO) issued a circular warning that social media posts on policy matters could lead to the withholding of pay, premature retirement, or termination of teaching and non-teaching staff, the state government has ordered an inquiry and stripped him of his responsibilities. In an order, Education Secretary Ram Niwas Sharma attached CEO Bashir Ahmad Shah to the Directorate of Education, Kashmir, pending an inquiry. Incidentally, in his circular, Shah had referred to a review meeting held by Sharma, where the "misuse of social media platforms" was taken up. "The worthy Secretary of School Education, J&K, during a review meeting held on October 3, intimated that various instances of misuse of social media platforms by teaching and non-teaching staff of the department, thereby suggesting/interfering in the policy matters of the department, have been brought to his notice," read the circular issued by CEO Shah. "The chair, during the meeting, directed all the Chief Education Officers to bring into the notice of the Administration any such violation without fail in order to fix the responsibility and act under government instructions,” it read. "An elaborate set of guidelines regarding the use of social media by government employees has been notified for strict adherence/compliance," read the order, outlining the punishments for violation. These include withholding of pay, premature retirement and even termination from the service. The circular, however, allowed the government teachers and non-teaching staff to use social media for "positive and constructive purposes".
