Punjab Education dept asks students, teachers to 'like, share' its Facebook posts for 'district-wise competition'

Karam Prakash
Tribune News Service
Patiala, June 23

Punjab's Education Department has urged teachers, students and parents to like, comment and share the posts which are uploaded by it on Facebook.

Students who don’t have an account on the social media website have been asked to create new accounts.

A "healthy competition" for shares, likes and comments has been conceived by the department, say sources. In the competition, whichever district gets the most likes and shares in 24 hours will be declared the winner.

A message from Patiala Deputy District Education Officer (DEO) to parents, teachers and students said: "We have to increase followers and likes of the Education Department page on Facebook. We have 24 hours to go, therefore, everyone has to get as many likes and share as possible."

Sources said that District Education Officials on Wednesday had held a meeting with school principals and directed them to ensure maximum participation in the competition. Following the meeting, school heads directed the teachers to get ‘maximum’ likes in the coming 24 hours.

Deputy DEO, Sukhwinder Khosla, said, “We have been asked to share the posts so that maximum people get aware of improvements in the Punjab School Education Department.”

When asked about having young children creating FB accounts, Khosla said, “Only students’ above class ninth have been asked to participate.”

Meanwhile, Vikram Dev, state president, Democratic Teachers Front, said, "Ahead of Assembly elections, the government is using the Education Department as an IT cell for their political benefits. It is shameful to use teachers and students for non-academic work which is unproductive work. We teach students that respect is commanded and not demanded. However, the step, seemingly, is the antithesis of this saying."

Dev further added that the directions were against the sole idea of freedom on social media.