Punjab Government on Tuesday notified its performance-based online transfer policy for around 90,000 Government teachers, with exemptions for the teachers suffering from medical issues.
Announcing the policy, the state Education Minister Vijay Inder Singla said that the policy is aimed at optimal distribution of human resources in order to protect academic interest of the students and to maximize job satisfaction amongst employees with a transparent and fair transfer policy.
“This is a performance-based review policy for transfer of teachers and would become effective from academic session 2019-20,” he said.
The policy shall be applicable to all teaching cadre posts — that is ETT, HT, CHT, Master, C&V, Lecturer and Vocational Masters — except employees on extension of services after attaining the age of superannuation. However, the posts of Ministerial Cadre, Block Officers, District Officers, Principal DIETs, School Head Masters and Principals shall not be covered under the policy, he said.
The policy, put in public domain, lists two-year tenure for transferred teacher. “The transfer applications would be taken in multiple rounds and would finish after July 31...No transfer would be done after that,” said Singla.
Informing about the category of teachers exempted from the transfer policy, the Minister said that it will not be applicable in case of those employees who are cancer patients, on dialysis, 60 percent and above handicap, Hepatitis-B, Hepatitis-C, Sickle cell Anaemia, Thalassemia, divorce, persons having differently abled children or mentally challenged children, war widow, widow of shaheed, or where death of the spouse makes it necessary for the serving employee to relocate to another place immediately and having children below 15 years of age or teachers who are spouses of armed force personnel who have been posted in difficult areas.
“In these cases, there will not be any need to submit online transfer request. Orders in such cases shall be issued with the approval of Chief Minister on merits,” he said.
According to the policy, the teachers transferred on administrative grounds will not be transferred back to same school from where they were transferred out on administrative grounds, said the Minister.
Under the policy, the schools have been divided into different zones. “The first round of the transfers starts from tomorrow when teachers can submit objections to the zone in which they fall,” he said adding that the final zone list would be notified on July 2.
Speaking on the periodicity of the transfers, the Education Minister said that the general transfers will be made only once in a year as notified by the Government for a given year. However, transfers can be affected by the Government at any time during the year in cases of administrative exigency, that is adverse PTR and disciplinary cases, he said adding that transfer or posting to the opted zone or school will not be claimed or treated as a matter of right.
Singla, elucidating the time table listed in the policy for the transfer process, said that decision about opening of new schools, upgradation of schools or section, addition of new subject or streams and redistribution or rationalization of teaching posts will be done from December 1 to 31 every year.
“This will be followed by notification of ‘actual vacancies’ from January 1 to 15. Eligible teachers will submit their choice of schools online, from January 15 to February 15. Transfer orders will be issued in the second week of March, every year and the joining will be in the first week of April,” he said.
There may be any number of rounds of transfers with the condition that the whole process will be completed within one month from the date of inviting online applications for the transfers. Qualifying date for actual vacancies, point calculation, count of stay shall be 31st March every year.
This schedule shall be adhered upon every year except the first year in which the online transfer policy is being implemented.