Teachers protest freeze on transfers

 

The State Election Commission  had earlier asked all government departments to withhold transfers till the completion of the election to the local bodies in November. 

 

However, the directorate decided to go ahead with the transfer.  But  the government  intervened to keep the order in abeyance. 

 

The teachers said that the directorate was only acting as per the High Court order which  had asked it to complete the transfers before September 30.

 

This was following a petition filed by a section of teachers pointing out that transfer had not taken place in the directorate for the last 10 years.

 

The teachers also pointed out that most of the over 1, 500 teachers had joined duty in  the new schools following the transfer order.

 

It is  difficult for them  to join duty back in their previous schools.  The  election commission had issued an order cancelling the transfer of teachers as it violated the directive of the commission.Another section of teachers had alleged violation of norms in the transfer process. 

 

There were also complaints of corruption in the process, including  the application format. 

 

The teachers who sought transfers were asked to fill the column indicating  the district of their preference. 

 

Till last year, the teachers were also asked to list the schools of their choice.