DISTRICT EDUCATION OFFICER

About District Education Officer

District Education Officer (DEO) is the professional who is responsible for inspecting, appointing, promoting, attendance developing and administration education policies of functioning of education state-run institutes within a district. He is the person who works as a government representative for the education sector at the district level. The post of a District Education Officer comes below Post “B” gazetted officer and the employment of a District Education Officer is done by the state Public Service Commission (PSCs) of the individual state. The major responsibilities of a District Education Officer comprise of managing all district-level administrative services in the specific area of fundamental education such as appointment, mounting and managing policies, encouragement, attendance, examination, etc.

What is the function of DEO?

A profession as a DEO comes with abundant responsibilities. His  responsibilities include controlling and managing entire district concerning the basic education provided and functions of education institutions. He or she oversees all the duties of teachers and other educational staff that comes under the particular district area assigned to the education officer. For each district there are three assigned DEOs. There are individual DEOs for secondary girls/ boys basic schools. District officers work responsibilities also include visiting schools, conference with head teachers, high school teachers and staying up to date about the improvement happening in schools. He/she motivates and guides teachers on discharging their everyday jobs. Some of the major responsibilities of district education officer is given below:

Monitoring

DEOs work responsibilities contain registering and monitoring private schools, their prospectus and other amenities provided to students, the conduct of teachers towards students, fees and other charges taken from their guardians.

Supervising

A DEO job involves supervising all schools in their assigned authority. He or she has to in person visit schools and frequently requires to make shocker visits to check the school management, discipline and performance of the school.

Inspection

A DEO is accountable for inspecting all matters associated to teachers concerning transfers, life insurance, leave, promotions, provident fund and maintaining the list of superiority of teachers.

Developing Budget

A DEO has to organize an estimated budget for district improvement programmes, maintenance of school buildings, disbursement of salaries of teachers and head teachers, high school teachers and allocating other government-approved resources to schools.

Managing Distribution

A DEO is accountable for overseeing the free allotment of textbooks, uniforms, teaching guides and other possessions provided by the government to schools. 

Skills and qualities required to become a/an District Education Officer:

Every job has its own preferable qualities same goes with DEO. Given below are some of skills required to be a/an district education officer:

Communication Skills: A job as a DEO demands good communication skills. As He or she has to speak in verbal as well in a written manner to professionals in the education department, teachers, headmaster and other staff. His or her work involve preparing of reports on the developments in schools. 

Organising Skills: A DEO have to administer multiple schools in his or her district. He or she is requisite to stay organized to examine the activities of each school efficiently and cross-check their operations. 

Administrative Skills:  A DEO every day job schedule involves administrative responsibilities. He or she is accountable for scheming the education within the district. He or she checks the prospectus and ensures it is finished before the commencement of examination. He or she checks leaves, transfers, the retirement of teachers and other related functions. 

Leadership Skills: Leadership skills are vital for the role of DEO A DEO has to guide all the teachers and other staff members. He or she has to plan meetings, supervise their work and motivate them for discharging tasks. 

Behavioural Skills: A DEO work includes interacting with various personnel who are involved in the performance of the education department on a daily basis. The capability to sense the requirements, problems and other grievances to build good relationships with employees is very much crucial. 

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Which certifications/ internships can be helpful to be suitable for District Education Officer?

If you are planning to go for a career as a DEO? Given below are several certification courses that you may opt to advance your skills for the role. 

Fundamentals of Rural sociology and Educational Psychology	Online Teaching: Evaluating and Improving Courses
Teacher Development: Embedding Mental Health in the Curriculum	Teaching for Success: Lessons and Teaching

Eligibility to become DEO:

In order to chase a career as a District Education Officer, the aspirant must execute the given below eligibility criteria:

• The candidate must have passed a graduation level or UG degree in any stream from a renowned institute.
• The candidate must have passed the exam of State Civil Services with a valid score/marks.
• The minimum age of the candidate is not less than 21 years and the maximum age will not exceed 40 years at the time of recruitment.

Job Roles of DEO

The different job roles performed by District Education Officer is given below:

District Education Officer: A District Education Officer is the professional who governs the  whole educational, legal and administrative actions of the government schools which comes under the respective district.

Deputy District Education Officer: A Deputy DEO is the Drawing and Disbursing Officer who is in charge for organization all the legal and administrative duties for a middle school in the respective district.

Assistant District Education Officer: An Assistant DEO is the professional who is in charge for providing assistance to the recruitment committee and govern the different small scale administrative actions which includes appointment, pension cases, staff evaluation, etc.

Sub Divisional Educational Officer: A Sub Divisional Educational Officer is the professional who is also recognized as the head of sub-division educational offices and is in charge for managing DEO offices and primary schools in the respective district.

Budget and Accounts Officer: A Budget and Accounts Officer is the person in charge for managing the overall budget and finances and preparing a report to put forward to DEO.

Employment Sector/Industry for DEO

The variety of employment sectors or Industries for a District Education Officer (DEO) are given below:

• Government based primary schools
• Government based secondary schools
• District Offices

Pay Scale of DEO

The pay scale for a DEO depends upon the kind of School and experience. Given below is the table which shows the average pay scale for a DEO on the basis of their experience level:

Job Role	Starting Salary Package (INR)	Mid Level Salary Package (INR)	Senior Level Salary Package (INR)
District Education Officer	45,000	1,57,500	3,10,900
Deputy District Education Officer	71,000	1,07,000	1,59,500
Assistant District Education Officer	1,12,500	3,58,500	1,04,500
Sub Divisional Educational Officer	1,02,000	7,89,000	15,49,000
Budget and Accounts Officer	1,51,500	3,14,500	7,26,500

Note: The salary arrangement given above is analytical only and is subject to change unconditionally.

Study Material to Become DEO

Given below are some of the most popular books and study materials for a DEO:

• NPSC DEO Preliminary Exam General Studies Book
• Indian Economy and Performance and Policies written by Uma Kapila
• India’s Struggle for Independence written by Bipin Chandra
• India Since Independence written by Bipin Chandra
• Non-Verbal Reasoning written by Prabhat Javed
• Objective Arithmetic written by S.L. Gulati

For more information visit: Education In India