25k teachers denied transfer

School education dept set to adopt strict policy

LAHORE:

More than 25,000 government schoolteachers' applications for transfer are set to be rejected due to strict policies of the Punjab School Education Department, The Express Tribune has learnt.

According to sources, a large number of female teachers' applications were also rejected, including hundreds from South Punjab and remote districts.

The sources said the Punjab government had decided to not entertain thousands of applications for transfer of teachers. Most of the teachers who had applied for transfer on medical grounds were also ignored.

The sources in the school education department said the scrutiny of the applications was continuing decisions on hundreds of them were expected in the coming week.

However, some teachers alleged that senior officials in the education ministry and department were allowing transfers on the basis of favouritism. The sources said the rejected applications pertained to all districts of the province.

The education department had launched an online transfer applications system last month.

Following the instructions, around 50,000 teachers from the primary, middle, secondary and higher secondary schools applied online for transfer.

After the last date for submitting the applications passed, the Punjab School Education Department has begun their scrutiny.

The sources said the transfer orders of the teachers would be issued during the coming week.

However, according to the sources, more than 25,000 applications have been rejected, causing anxiety among the teachers seeking transfer to their desired areas.

A senior official of the school education department said that about half of the applicants had cited medical reasons for seeking transfer to various areas and then authorities had decided to reject most of them.

The applicants had stated that they were suffering from ailments including heart problems, diabetes and chest infection. Most of the women applicants had mentioned medical reasons for justifying their requests for transfer.

Other major reasons cited by the applicants included hardship and long distance from their residences to the schools.

The official said the number of applications submitted for transfer was more than expected, so it had been decided that a strict policy would be adopted regarding their acceptance. A large number of the applications are set to rejected, the official added.

There are thousands of schools that have only two or three teachers and some of them have also applied for transfer, the official said.

He said some schools would be left with no teacher if all the applications for transfer would be accepted. Commenting on the matter, Punjab Teachers Union President Allah Rakha Gujjar said a large number of government schoolteachers were performing duties in tough conditions.

He said thousands of teachers were serving up to 200 kilometres away from their homes and the the women teachers were affected the most by the problem. He said causing such hardships was tantamount to violating the rights of the teachers.

He accused the education department of allowing transfers on the basis of favouritism and on political grounds while the applications of deserving teachers were rejected.

The teachers' leader also lamented that the Punjab government was moving for outsourcing its schools, which would curtail the educational opportunities for the poor people. A former president of the union, Kashif Shahzad, said transfer was a basic right of the teachers and the government should carry out the whole process on merit and in a transparent way.

He said it was a fact that majority of the applicants had mentioned medical grounds but the government should not deprive of transfer the teachers suffering from medical problems.