Education department: The Ghost teacher create menace; Blow to the journalism

Sagar Suraj

MOTIHARI: A number of government teachers in east champaran would breathe journalism 24*7 increasing their sphere of influence. Violating their service rules, they are drawing their salary as teachers but spending most of their time either in their block and police offices or after local public representatives.

 Among many others in the district, one Rayaz Alam, a government teacher - turned- journalist, created havoc in Ramgarhwa locality in the district. His entire misdeed is alleged to be patronized by local authorities with the education department.

He is a teacher, a politician, a journalist, and also he is a contractor. He protects the interest of the block education officer and let him to allow corruption in school premises using his newspaper in which he works.

 He openly either does favour or against the candidate in any election in his locality. He would write stories with his name, he used to paste posters on walls using his name as journalist designation in election season in favour of his candidates.

 Annoyed with the misuse of newspapers and openly using his influence by Reyaz, a mayor candidate of Raxaul Nagar Nokay election, one Purnima Bharti had to organize a press conference and she denounced Reyaz Alam for indulging in alleged "yellow journalism" and also being a government teacher.

 He alleged to have taken many contracts of government schemes influencing and intimidating officers. Unfortunately, this blow to the journalism in the district goes unchecked.

 Reyaz Alam managed to get deputation from his original school Prathmik school, Dubey Tola, Ramgarhwa to Navshrijit Prathmik school Nyeka Basti, Ramgarhwa. Just to draw a salary as a teacher and concentrate on other works, he got deputation in such a school, which has neither building nor proper numbers of students. The school however was annexed later with Rajkiye Prathmik Vidhyalay,Ramgarhwa Sanksrit. Only two teachers including Reyaz in the school runs the school with 15 to 20 students.

 The irony does not stop here, like Reyaz, many teacher- turned -journalists freely share dais of any political and social functions and receive awards for their work in the field of journalism and the stories of these functions are published with their names  in their own newspaper.

 The government, it is believed, has full knowledge of how the world's second oldest profession is polluted by some vested interest elements active in the newspaper industry.

Such ghost journalists are frequently working with some mainstream media houses and also with some vernacular newspapers.  Shockingly, the government has even failed to take action against the erring government employees who turn journalists.

These people not only violate the service rules that say a government employee cannot even take a “casual” second job but they are menacingly intimidating and influencing even scrupulous people in government offices.

 If one talks, what do the rules say?. No government employee can work at two places. It is against rules and amounts to financial irregularity as an employee can’t draw salary from the government exchequer at two places. A government employee can’t even do a vocational or professional or casual job. According to service rules related to “connection with Press or Radio”

 No government employee shall, own wholly or in part, or conduct or participate in the editing or management of, any newspaper or other periodical publication, No government employee shall, except with the previous sanction of the government or of the prescribed authority, or except in the bona fide discharge of his duties participate in a radio broadcast or contribute an article or write a letter to a newspaper or periodical either in their own name or anonymously, pseudonymously or in the name of any other person.

District education officer (DEO) Sanjay Kumar told BNM that if he gets information from any sources that such a teacher engaged in a profession other than  teaching he would be taken severely.