Transfer of Higher Secondary teachers kicks up row in Kerala

Thiruvananthapuram: The decision of the Directorate of Higher Secondary Education to issue transfer order to higher secondary teachers at the fag end of the academic year has kicked up a controversy.  However, Education Minister P.K. Abdu Rabb has assured that the teachers would be given time till the examinations are over to join the new schools.

Though the government had taken steps for the transfers in September, the State Election Commission had kept  them in abeyance due to the elections to the  local bodies. The order to transfer all the teachers who have completed five years of service in a place will be issued on January 12.

Mr T.M. Thomas Isaac MLA commented on  the Facebook that the decision would derail the  examination process.  The teachers would be engaged in  activities like revision of theory portions and practical experiments, clearing doubts, record certification and  model examinations for both theory and practical. The practical examinations are scheduled to be held in February and theory examinations in March, the post said.

Mr Rabb said that the concerns of the teachers were true. Even if the order is issued, they would be given time till June to join the new schools, Mr Rabb said.

Mr  K.C.Harikrishnan, general secretary,  Kerala School Teachers Association (KSTA), said that the transfer order should have been issued before June or July at the beginning of the academic year. When the  process was later initiated, it came to the scrutiny of the tribunal because it violated the norm that the transfer application should be invited on the online mode delaying the process. However, the applications were invited on manual mode, Mr Harikrishnan said.
 

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