The transfers of teachers of education department, something which always sparks row, would be done before June 25. On Friday, the high powered committee set up by the State Government to look into the implementation of the transfers Act- 2017 rejected the plea of the education department to grant further reprieve on extending the transfers. The act clearly mentions that transfers in all departments must be completed by June 10. The education department had earlier sought an extension of 15 days for transfer of its employees from the committee and it had been granted. Unable to complete transfers within the new time -frame, the department asked for further extension of the last date of the transfers, the plea which the committee rejected.
When contacted, the director General School Education, Captain Alok Shekhar Tiwari said that the transfers of teachers would be done by 25 June as per the provisions of the transfer act. He said that the order of the Uttarakhand High Court (HC) that the 70 percent posts of teachers in the schools of the mountainous schools should get filled first before transferring teachers from these schools to those located in the plain areas would get automatically followed in the transfers as more transfers to the hard to access areas (Durgam) would be done from easy to access areas (Sugam). Tiwari said that the high powered committee on Transfers Act has directed the department to first complete the process of transfer and then put individual cases of discrepancy for rectification before it.
The problem of the education department is that glaring errors occurred in the process of categorization of the schools into Sugam and Durgam categories. It has resulted in a scenario where many schools which earlier were in Sugam were marked in Durgam and vice versa, creating thus problems for the department to determine total stay of an employee at Sugam and Durgam.
The teachers, however, are keeping their fingers crossed on the matter of transfer. The general secretary of the Rajkeeya Shikshak Sangh, the association of lecturers and lecturer teachers (lT), Sohan Singh Majila said that the department officials have deliberately made mess of the provisions of Transfers Act- 2017. He said that the association would oppose every such transfer which is done against the act.
Meanwhile, the department has transferred 20 education department officers on Friday.