DPI issues new guidelines for teacher transfers

Having come under severe criticism about teachers’ transfer guidelines, the Department of Public Instruction on Wednesday uploaded a new set of guidelines for transferring teachers.

The department has amended the Regulation of Transfer of Teachers Act 2007 for the purpose. The districts which have excess teachers will be identified and online counselling will be done to transfer them to districts with vacant posts. The three per cent limit to inter-district transfers will not be applicable in the process. The application process for this purpose will begin on August 5. The list of districts with excess teachers has been uploaded online.

Teachers cannot seek transfer to ditrsictcs with excess teachers. However, within the identified districts, they can seek transfer if there is a vacant post in a different school.  Government Primary and High School teachers, B Group employees, subject inspectors and physical education teachers can apply between August 6 and 12 to seek transfer.

The counselling for primary school teachers will take place between October 1 and 7 and for high school teachers it will be between October 4 and 8. After counselling if there are districts with vacant posts, guest teachers will be deployed.

Teachers are unhappy that the department has decided to go ahead with redeployemnt of teachers though it is already two months into the academic year.

They are concerned that it will disrupt their ongoing classes since the process will only conclude in October. Teachers who are redeployed will also have to relocate their families and their children will have to be admitted to new schools. The process should have started in April and completed before the academic year began.