All these years, 52-year-old I J Pandey was blissful in the knowledge of having been born on February 29, the day that decides the leap year tag. But the bubble burst the day he visited the District Education Office in Ahmedabad for getting a lowdown on his benefits after the implementation of the Sixth Pay Commission recommendations.

As per records, Ishwarlal Jayprased Pandey was born on February 29, 1957, which was a date the computers at the DEO’s office refused to accept. Reason: 1957 had no such date. Now, Pandey doesn’t know whom to approach. Understandably, he is depressed that the Sixth Pay Commission benefits have been denied to him.

This social sciences teacher with an M Ed degree and service spanning over 20 years is in a fix. On the advice of his school principal, this high school teacher has gone to his ancestral village to fetch his birth certificate.

Jeetu Tripathi, the principal of Utkarsh Girls High School, where he teaches, said, “Yeh Ajeeb baat hai. Yeh toh vastavikta hai ki unka janm hua tha aur kisi din toh hua hoga. Main sochta hoon woh kis din apna janmdin maante honge? (This is strange. The fact is that he was born on some day for sure. I only wonder which day he considers as his date of birth).”

He added: “I received a notice regarding the birth date anomaly from the DEO’s office. I immediately suggested Pandey to fetch his birth certificate and migration certificate from his school. He is a very dedicated teacher. With only four years left for his service, he is a tensed man today. He fears that all his certificates can be challenged because of the wrong date of birth.”

... contd.