Plaint against minister, CPS, MLA for influencing teachers' transfers

Times of India: jalandhar: Wednesday, 17 September 2014.

Based on information procured under RTI Act from state education department, which revealed that "sifarish" (recommendation) by political leaders was instrumental in transfers of teachers of government schools, two social activists have filed a complaint on Tuesday before Punjab lokpal against nine politicians, including a minister, a chief parliamentary secretary, three MLAs and two former ministers.

Activists Balwant Singh Khera, chairman, Malta Boat Tragedy Probe Mission, and Parvinder Singh Kitna of Human Empowerment League Punjab (HELP) have also attached information procured under RTI Act from the education department to support their complaint, besides the affidavit.

The lists of transfers provided by the education department included names of politicians on whose recommendation teachers were being transferred. Khera and Kitna have demanded action against the politicians for misusing their official positions to seek transfer of teachers.

Politicians against whom complaints have been lodged included jail minister Sohan Singh Thandal, CPS Pawan Kumar Tinu, MLAs Surinder Singh Bhulewal Rathan (Hoshiarpur), Bibi Jagir Kaur (Bholath) and Sukhjit Singh Sahi (Dasuya), former minister and chief minister's adviser Tikshan Sood, former minister Arunesh Shakir, Hoshiarpur zila parishad chairman Sarabjot Singh and SAD's Tanda Urmur assembly constituency in-charge Arvinder Singh Rasoolpur.

Information procured by activists from the office of Hoshiarpur district education officer (secondary) had revealed that, besides sending names of teachers to be transferred, the department also mentioned elected representatives or political leaders, who recommended the postings, in a separate column. Names of office-bearers of SAD and Youth Akali Dal, who do not hold any public office, also figure in the lists received by Kitna.

The lists provided by the DEO not only had the names of teachers with details of the station of their posting and where they wanted to be shifted, but also names of political leaders in a separate column titled "vishesh kathan" (special comment).

Thandal made maximum recommendations. The complaint also mentioned that Hoshiarpur MLA Surinder Singh got a teacher couple transferred 100km away from each other and the duo had to move the Punjab and Haryana high court to get their posting orders cancelled.