The Sindh Health and Population Welfare Department has announced a new digital leave application system for employees, which will come into effect from September 1.
Under the new policy, officers and officials from BPS-16 to BPS-20 will be required to submit applications for all types of leave exclusively through the Human Resource Management Information System (HRMIS) portal.
The department has also decided to discontinue the traditional paper-based leave application system.
According to an official directive, any leave applications submitted through paper or other conventional methods after August 31 will not be accepted. The department warned that violations of the new procedure could lead to disciplinary action.
The order further stated that any employee remaining absent from duty without submitting and receiving prior approval for leave through the HRMIS portal would be considered on unauthorised absence.
Deputy Secretary (Staff) Ali Nawaz Channa issued the directive to the Sindh PPHI chief executive officer, district health officers, medical superintendents, executive directors of tertiary care hospitals, medical superintendents of secondary care hospitals, section officers and employees from BPS-16 to BPS-20.
All section officers have been directed to ensure strict implementation of the new system and process leave applications only through the HRMIS portal.
Employees facing technical difficulties while submitting their leave applications online have been advised to contact Chief Technical Officer Dr Allah Bakhsh Mushtaq for assistance.
The move is aimed at digitising the leave management process and ensuring better monitoring of employee attendance across the Sindh Health and Population Welfare Department.
Punjab schools to open on alternate Saturdays
In a separate development, the Punjab government has announced, according to reports on Friday, that it may review the school academic calendar after private schools objected to the long summer vacations in the province.
The Education Minister of Punjab, Rana Sikandar Hayat, while speaking to a private TV channel, said that long holidays negatively affect students’ education. He agreed with the concerns that had been raised by private schools.
He said that the government is considering a proposal to open schools on alternate Saturdays after the summer vacations.
Further, the minister added that the new academic calendar will be prepared after consultation with private schools.
He also said that an alternative plan will be made in case schools have to close suddenly due to any situation.
The minister said that the Friday holiday also caused a loss in studies. According to him, schools should remain open for 180 days in a year, but at present, they are functioning for only around 140 days.
Also read: Govt ends Saturday holiday in Schools