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New Delhi: A recent circular issued by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) strictly enforcing office timings, regulating lunch breaks and restricting staff movement outside campus during office hours has triggered concern among sections of the faculty and employees, who allege growing administrative control and surveillance within the institution.

The office order, issued on May 8 by the Security Section of the NCERT Headquarter in Delhi, mandates that no employee will leave campus during working hours without prior permission from authorities. It also directs security personnel posted at gates to prevent unauthorised exits, maintain movement records and immediately report violations, if any.

The circular further states that employees reporting for work after 9:15 AM may face compulsory leave deductions and, in the absence of any leave balance, proportional salary cuts. Repeated violations could attract disciplinary proceedings under Central Civil Services Conduct Rules 1964.

While the order has been issued from the NCERT headquarters in New Delhi, The Wire has learnt that it has also been circulated to the institution’s regional constituent units in Ajmer, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Mysuru, Shillong and Nellore.

Faculty members who spoke to The Wire on the condition of anonymity alleged that the circular reflects a broader pattern of increasing surveillance and administrative restrictions within the institution.

“We are receiving such letters from time to time, but this is perhaps among the strongest in terms of language and control,” a faculty member said. “The administration increasingly speaks in terms of ‘security architecture’, ‘movement monitoring’ and ‘administrative control’. These are not terms one ordinarily associates with an academic institution.”

The faculty member alleged that restrictions and monitoring have gone beyond office attendance........

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