Minimum use of social media, no celebrations during office hours for Calicut varsity staff

Authorities say some staff keeping away from office for long hours and are seen roaming around the campus

Minimum use of mobile phones and social media during work hours. Only 15 minutes of tea break, that too with the consent of the section head. No celebrations during office time.

These are some of the instructions given to the staff of the University of Calicut, the largest centre of higher education in Kerala with around 400 colleges spread across five districts under its jurisdiction. An order issued on October 9 by E.K. Satheesh, Registrar, says the purpose is to ensure “discipline” and “punctuality” of staff.

The order says that even though a set of guidelines and a code of conduct for the staff are already in place, some staff are allegedly not adhering to them. Also, some are keeping away from office for long and are seen roaming around the campus beyond the permissible time for lunch break. According to the authorities, this is a violation of the existing rules and the code of conduct. The latest guidelines were formulated after a meeting held on August 23, in which heads of various sections were present.

The authorities want all the staff to strictly adhere to office timings. They should not come late and leave early citing lack of availability of transportation facilities or other travel-related issues. The staff should not venture out of office either before or after the lunch break between 1.15 pm and 2 p.m. Section heads will be asked to take action against those who violate this rule.

The staff should avoid ‘unnecessary use’ of social media and mobile phones during work hours. Tea break of 15 minutes can be taken only in ‘necessary situations’, that too with the permission of the section heads. Celebrations are not allowed during office hours, but they can be held after or before that. All the staff should attend telephone calls and if there are technical issues with the landline phones, they should be sorted out in consultation with the instrumentation engineer.

The staff should behave ‘decently’ with the visitors, including students, and details about the fee structure should be properly explained. The tendency to send visitors to other sections for clarifying enquiries should be avoided. The section heads should convene meetings of their staff at least once in a month. The staff should not leave office without the permission of the section officer, who is supposed to maintain a register of their movements.

Though it is not yet clear what prompted the university to issue these guidelines now, sources said that complaints from students or their parents could have been the reason.