Sources said the orders have been issued following a case ongoing in the Punjab and Haryana High Court related to a teacher from Hoshiarpur who purportedly published some articles and gave some interviews against the education department. (Representational image) Sources said the orders have been issued following a case ongoing in the Punjab and Haryana High Court related to a teacher from Hoshiarpur who purportedly published some articles and gave some interviews against the education department. (Representational image)

THE PUNJAB education department has issued orders warning government teachers that they cannot practise print or electronic journalism and earn from it simultaneously, and should discontinue if they were doing so or face disciplinary action.

The orders were issued by Jaskirat Kaur, assistant director, coordination branch, Punjab education department. “Some complaints were received that teachers in government schools are also working as journalists and publishing stories and materials against our own department. Also, an old case in this regard is also ongoing in the high court, due to which the orders have been issued. There is no ban on contributing literary and academic works, but prior permission has to be taken. The orders are basically for news articles and journalistic material which teachers cannot publish,” she said.

She further said that the Punjab Government Employees (Conduct) Rules, 1966, clearly state that government employees cannot work as journalists and if teachers will breach the rule number, disciplinary action will be taken against them. The orders further state that even teachers who are working as pattrakar (journalists) and regularly writing for some newspapers (news articles) with the permission of their school principals or any other higher official, should discontinue and principals have been asked to cancel their permission.

The rule number 8 states that “no government employee shall, except with previous sanction of the government or prescribed authority, shall participate in the radio broadcast contribute an article or write a letter to a newspaper or periodical either in his own name or anonymously or pseudonymously or in the name of any other person.”

The rule also says, “Provided that no such sanction shall be required if such contribution, broadcast or writing is of purely literary, artistic or scientific character.”

Sources said the orders have been issued following a case ongoing in the Punjab and Haryana High Court related to a teacher from Hoshiarpur who purportedly published some articles and gave some interviews against the education department.

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