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.”

Though the government allows a correction in the date of birth if entered wrongly, this clause is only applicable till the first five years of service.

Education Officer Ashok R Patel said, “The actual date could be February 19, which will have to be established. As of now, he is entitled to all the benefits of the Sixth Pay Commission even though the computer says otherwise.”