Digitization process at Edn Office : ATSUM to shut down ZEO offices
Source: The Sangai Express / Newmai News Network
Imphal, March 09 2018:
The All Tribal Students' Union, Manipur (ATSUM) has today resolved to shut-down all the Zonal Education Officers' (ZEOs) offices in the hill districts of Manipur with immediate effect to register its first form of protest, "as the State Government has failed to attend to the genuine demand of ATSUM" to decentralize the digitization process of Education (S) Department employees' service books" at the respective ZEO offices and not at the Directorate Education (S) office" in Imphal.
"It is very unfortunate and disappointing that the request of ATSUM for an audience with the Hon'ble Minister to have conference on education system in the hill districts and digitization of service book has been in vain", the apex tribal student body of Manipur said.
"Appointment has been denied on February 24 and also on March 8, 2018", it alleged.
Taking serious note of "dilution of power once enjoyed by the DDOs/ZEOs in the hill districts, ATSUM opines the order to be a scheme to strip the powers and functions of ZEOs".
If the Government is for good governance, ZEO offices should be upgraded with all the requisite infrastructures and amenities to enable storage of Service Books under the custody ofthe respective ZEOs, it added.
The ATSUM stated that it "does not object to digitization but storage of service books in the Central Records Room of the Directorate of Education (S) will bring forth chaos and trust deficit among the employees of remote areas".
ATSUM added that besides posing problems for personnel posted at remote areas "in the form of spending 3/4 days to reach Imphal coupled with huge financial expenses just to pen their signatures on the service books, loss of command-control chain and all issues relating to service matters being schemed to be dealt in Imphal will forfeit the slogan of the Government's 'Go to the Hills'.
ATSUM appealed to make certain changes by facilitating digitization of service books at the ZEO level "to ensure that there is decentralization".
"If the exercise is not feasible in the district headquarters due to lack of infrastructure and requisite amenities, upgrade facilities of the high-tech world first before trying to implement what is not to the contentment of the populace residing in far flung fringes of Manipur", it demanded.
As such, ATSUM cautioned that it will have to intensify its agitation with different forms of agitation in future, "if the genuine demand for digitization of service books is not done at hill district ZEO offices" .