Appoints inquiry officer
Srinagar, Jul 04: Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha has ordered the suspension of eight School Education Department officials and directed a high-level inquiry after two books supplied to government school libraries in Jammu & Kashmir were found to contain content that authorities described as inappropriate and linked to separatism.
The action was taken through an order issued by the School Education Department on Saturday. The government said the books had been selected under the Samagra Shiksha library scheme and later withdrawn after concerns were raised over their content.
According to the order, grants had been released for procurement of age-appropriate books for 1,832 government schools and 394 PM SHRI schools across J&K.
The department stated that four expert committees had been constituted to select library books for different class groups. Out of 463 books submitted by 364 publishers, two were subsequently found to contain objectionable material and were withdrawn on July 3.
The books identified are “Personalities and Legends of J&K” by Hilal Ahmad and Santosh Meena, published by Oberoi Book Service, Jammu, and “Great Personalities of Jammu and Kashmir” by Dr Sushant Giri, published by Anurag Prakashan, Delhi.
Officials said 123 copies of the first book were supplied to schools in Jammu, Ramban and Udhampur districts, while 128 copies of the second book were distributed in Jammu and Baramulla districts.
The department observed that members of the concerned selection committee allegedly failed to exercise due diligence while recommending the books and termed the lapse a case of negligence and dereliction of duty.
The suspended officials include library coordinators, academic officers, principals and lecturers associated with the selection process. They will remain attached with the Administrative Department during the suspension period.
The government has appointed Ashwani Kumar, IAS, Financial Commissioner and Additional Chief Secretary, Higher Education Department, as Inquiry Officer to investigate the matter. Rohit Sharma, JKAS, Additional Secretary in the General Administration Department, has been appointed as Presenting Officer. The inquiry report has been sought within 30 days.
A contractual computer assistant attached with Samagra Shiksha has also been disengaged with immediate effect.
The order further directs that the authors and publishers of the two books be banned and blacklisted in J&K and that all printed material authored or published by them be withdrawn from the Union Territory.
