Teachers’ woes finally end through largest HRMS

Some, who have been waiting a decade for transfers, can now apply online

LAHORE: Punjab government has introduced the country’s largest paperless human resources management system (HRMS). Overall, the system has greatly helped streamline the transfer, posting and leave processing of schoolteachers across Punjab. However, it is currently facing some teething issues.

Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar said the HRMS made it possible to make put the data of 0.4 million schoolteachers online. Now school teachers will not have to move around offices for a solution to petty matters.

The system has enabled the Punjab School Education Department (PSED) to transfer an estimated 20,000 teachers transparently, efficiently and without any political interference over the last two months.

The CM said it also eliminated corruption as the system removed direct contact between the administration and schoolteachers. He highlighted that this initiative was an important milestone towards the elimination of corruption and achieving the goals of e-governance and transparency.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, PSED Secretary Capt (retd) Muhammad Mahmood quoted a case study of a school teacher, Attique-ur-Rehman, from district Rajanpur. He said that until recently, Rehman had to travel around 80 kilometers from his parental home to his school each day. He maintained this arduous routine for the past seven years, while making several unsuccessful attempts to transfer to a public school closer to his home.

For him, a transfer was almost unthinkable without a powerful ‘safaarish’ who had also explored the option of mutual transfers by finding someone who might agree to switch schools. However, in June, he was among the 32,000 public schoolteachers across Punjab who submitted their transfer applications via their mobile phones — using the eTrasnfer System —introduced in 2019 by the School Education Department. In all, these teachers submitted 82,000 transfer preferences, Mahmood highlighted.

On June 29th, the unthinkable actually happened for Rehman. He received his transfer letter on his mobile phone, confirming his appointment at the school close to his parental home.  He has joined his new post now – without safaarish, humiliation, long-queues, lost files or ‘extra’ charges, he pointed out.

The PSED secretary further highlighted that the department, in collaboration with Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB), has introduced this well thought-through process-automation drive. “The objective is to free up as much of the teachers’ time as possible and enable them to focus on 12 million students across 50,000 public schools in Punjab.”

He said the eTransfer system is a key component of the overall plan and an integral part of the Centralized School Information System for Punjab.  “Launched in May 2019, the eTransfer System has had an almost disruptive effect on the way the department has traditionally operated – in manual-mode, with knowledge of applicable policies, and available vacant posts in the hands of only a few.”

This year, for the first time in the history of the department, the PSED secretary said teacher-transfer policies and the eligibility criteria have been made available online. All vacant posts, at each school, are searchable online and the formula for automatic computation of application-score has been made public.

“Teachers are able to apply for transfers and receive updates through their mobile phones.  The waiting lists for each vacant post, and the generation of final transfer orders, have been completely automated – no human intervention is required.”

The official boasted that the eTransfer System is not only pro-teacher, but pro-school as well. “Using this system, the PSED has been able to restrict transfers out of public primary schools that already have a shortage of teachers. It has also been able to restrict transfers into schools that have surplus teachers.”

The secretary added that overall, there has been widespread appreciation for this initiative of the PSED. “Public school teachers, across genders, have appreciated the enormous savings in time, cost, and hassle – not to mention the anxiety associated with the old ways. Politicians and government officials have also heaved a sigh of relief as the automated system can now be blamed for not taking ‘safaarish’.”

Punjab Teachers Union General Secretary Rana Liaqat Ali also appreciated the e-governance initiative of the provincial government. He highlighted that the system has made it possible to transfer school teachers, who had been on the waiting list for a decade, because they did not have any influence or political connection.

Since data entry is underway across Punjab, he indicated teachers are facing difficulties even in routine operations due to heavy workload. “The government has fixed a deadline of August 10 to complete data entry, which is impossible to complete since Eid-ul-Azha holidays are around the corner, he highlighted. The secretary suggested that the government extend its deadline.

Under the new HRMS, he highlighted the e-transfer system has eliminated corruption from the system.

The official maintained that in the later stages, the government plans to incorporate all service records.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 8^th, 2019.