Why should only government school teachers hog the limelight when employees in other public offices are on the same boat?
Taking cognisance of complaints about poor attendance of Head of Office at the district offices, Chief Secretary of Nagaland is said to have expressed concern over this practice during a meeting of all the Administrative Head of Departments and Head of Departments (HODs) convened in Kohima earlier this week. The CS also urged all departments to register in the biometric attendance system, the Head of Office to be in their respective assigned stations, and the HODs to strictly monitor the attendance at the directorate and district offices. What message does this send out to the public? It reeks of negligence from the government employees, irrespective of their positions. It is also an acknowledgement from the government that it is aware of rampant absenteeism prevailing in public offices. Well, absenteeism is not something new. It has been normalised over the years, which is why it has become difficult to do away with this social issue. For many, it’s not just the perceived job security and other benefits that attract them to state government jobs. Some “buy” government jobs by bribing a huge amount to draw salary without working, and some for so-called “side income” (a term commonly used by people of the state) generated during working hours, which is nothing but daylight robbery and corruption. Everybody is aware of it but nobody can do much about it now, including the government. It is endemic.
The state government has tried to address the issue of absenteeism in the past but failed terribly. The Chief Secretary of Nagaland has even threatened to implement ‘No Work No Pay’ policy for government employees on several occasions but it faded into oblivion. The government is still unable to make its employees remain at their places of posting; forget about focusing on productivity and quality of work. No wonder government educational institutions and offices have failed in terms of performance. It is now clear that reminders, appeals and warnings won’t work anymore, thanks to the waning of responsibility and accountability. The vicious circle of corruption and dereliction of duty has inflicted enough damage to our society. It’s time to knock some sense of responsibility into the heads of erring government employees, who are paid out of tax payers’ money. Tangible measures, including stringent disciplinary action, should be taken against the defaulters. In the meantime, those who perform their duties diligently should be recognised and rewarded. Everybody needs motivation.
