It has been observed by the Finance Department of J&K government that employees from across departments are putting in requests to be allowed to pursue distance/online learning professional courses without availing study leave.
As per rule 61 to 73 of the J&K Civil Services (Leave) Rules, 1979, employees of Government of Jammu and Kashmir are granted study leave for pursuing special courses in a professional or technical subject, provided it has a direct and close connection with the employee’s job or sphere of duties. This leave is granted initially for a period of one year and maximum for a period of three years during their entire service.
However, with the emergence of online learning modules and distance learning, students are hardly required to be physically present in classrooms all the time. Therefore, the employees are coming for requests to pursue such courses without availing their study leave.
The Department of Finance in the Government of Jammu & Kashmir has sent out a circular clarifying certain points for employees.
The circular says that since the government does not wish to come in the way of an employee’s desire to acquire knowledge, there are certain conditions that the employees need to meet.
The first condition is that the employees have to inform the designated department about the course and the institution they are going to pursue the course from. Second, the employees must pursue these courses in their leisure hours, that is, before and after the normal working hours. “The completion of the course shall be without detriment to the efficient discharge of his/her official duties. If at any stage, it is found that the employee has been neglecting his duties for the sake of his studies, the permission shall be withdrawn at any moment without assigning any reasons besides inviting disciplinary action,” mentions the circular.
That is not all. The employees will not be entitled for any leave for examination purposes. Such leaves will be subject to admissibility and administrative interests.
