Is Headmaster a gazetted officer?

Gazetted officers are often required for purposes of certifying and verifying documents for various purposes like Digital Signature certificate, application to colleges, seeking a passport, securing loans, etc. It is often confusing to approach and who is the appropriate person to attest to the documents. It is essential to understand who can attest to what documents. There is a significant difference between gazetted and non-gazetted officers, which is pertinent to understand. The list of gazetted officers is published in The Gazette of India. In this article, clarification will be provided whether the headmaster is a gazetted officer or not, and what documents can he attest.

WHO IS A GAZETTED OFFICER?

Gazetted officers are those public servants who are appointed either directly by the President or by the governor of the state or through exams making such appointments directly from the government. Gazetted officers are those whose name is published in the Gazette of India, so not every person employed under the government is gazetted. To certify a document as a true copy of the document is the task of a gazetted officer which they do by putting a seal of their own name provided by the government. The duty of gazetted officers is to verify and attest the documents, but they cannot be forced to attest any particular document, as it is not backed up by any legal provision.

Part XIV, Article 309 of the Indian Constitution deals with recruitment and service conditions serving under the Union and the States. Under the power of this Article, all the legal notices, amendments, which respect to recruitment and other details are published in the Gazette of India. And all such officers are called as gazetted officers.

The government has classified its employees into 4 classes which are namely

Class I: They are the Highest ranked government officials and in the Executive category. Officers like IAS, IPS, IRS are covered in this category. They are the Gazetted officers who can attest nearly all documents.

Class II: This Category has both gazetted and non-gazetted officers. For example, Income Tax officers, Principal of School, headmaster of govt. School, etc. are covered under the gazetted category. And Junior Engineers in a government department, Excise Inspector are covered under the non-gazetted category.

Class III and Class IV: These Employees are generally non-gazetted in nature. They are either in non-supervisory roles or are multi-tasking manual workers like a peon, sweeper, etc. this category of employees is non-gazetted.

Read Also: Is Bank Manager a Gazetted Officer?

ARE HEADMASTERS GAZETTED OFFICERS?

The most important question of whether headmasters are gazetted officers are positive but with certain riders. Headmasters of government High School are regarded as Gazetted officers covered under Class II of the list.

• Government Primary School Headmaster is not deemed as a gazetted officer.
• The headmaster of a government high School though a gazetted officer has very limited powers.
• They do not have the power that is vested in a notary like attesting agreements, affidavits. They have power limited to attesting documents to be true copies of the original documents.
• They are covered under Class II or Group B (Gazetted Category). The recruitment of a headmaster of a government school is done as per the guidelines laid down by the government and appointment made by the government.
• The headmaster of both State Government and Central Government schools are covered under this category.
• The headmaster of a private school will not be regarded as a gazetted officer primarily because the appointment is not made by the government and nor are the recruitment rules as per the government.
• The principal of government school is covered under the Class II category of Gazetted officer.
• The principal of a government college is covered under the Class I category of a gazetted officer, and Headmaster of Government college is also regarded as gazetted officers.
• A lecturer in a government college is a gazetted officer. Teachers working in a government school are not gazetted, officers. Though their appointment is made by the government, they are not above the grade pay required to be covered under Class II.
• A headmaster can attest to the documents only with a green ink signature and stamp of the name provided with.

Read Also: Is a doctor a Gazetted Officer?

WHAT DOCUMENTS CAN HEADMASTER ATTEST

The headmaster of a Government High School has the power to attest any document for which the Class II category is allowed and acknowledge anyone.  For documents like mark sheet attestation, attestation of academic documents and financial documents can be done by the Headmaster. For any document verification for proof of identity and proof of residence for the application of Digital Signature certificate can be done by the headmaster.

Read Also: List of Gazetted Officers in India 

CONCLUSION

Gazetted officers are vested with the power and duty of attesting various documents for various purposes. The attestation of documents can be done by the Headmaster of a government school, being government servants. However, private school headmasters are non-gazetted.

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