Anantnag teachers not transferred since 26 years

Daily Excelsior: Srinagar: Sunday, 14 February 2016.

Nearly one hundred teachers in South Kashmir’s Anantnag district have not been transferred from several years while many of them are at single place from past 25 years, an official reply to an RTI application has revealed.

Chief Education Officer (CEO) Anantnag in a reply to the RTI filed by Irfan Mohiuddin Malla revealed that there are schools in the district where teachers have not been transferred from years 1989, 1990, 1991, 1994, 1995, 1997 and so on. As per official reply, many of these teachers are posted in the schools which are located in their native villages.

Some of the teachers who are posted at single place since 1990 include Ghulam Rasool at Government Middle School Dialgam, Akeela Akhtar at Government Primary School Brakpora, Tabbasum Shafi at Middle School Pethbugh, Muhammad Abbas Shah at Middle School Magraypora, Imtiyaz Ahmad Khan at Middle School Chakh. The RTI information reveals that a teacher Muhammad Amin Ganai, who is posted at Middle School HP Bagh, has not been transferred since year 1989.

As per Education Department’s transfer policy of year 2010, minimum term of teaching personnel at a place shall be two years in plain areas and one year in hilly areas. Maximum term of teaching staff at a place shall be 3 years.

Sources in the Education Department said that the reason for not transferring these teachers is their “close association” with the politicians, bureaucrats and union leaders. “The issue is that most of these teachers joined the department as a result of favouritism and that is why no one is transferring them,” they added.

Irfan Mohiuddin, who filed the RTI, told Excelsior that when he filed the RTI for the first time and sought information the CEO didn’t divulge complete information. “When I filed my first RTI, the CEO Anantnag provided only half information. There was no mention of those teachers who have spent more than a decade at a single institute,” he said, adding: “then I filed another RTI seeking full information and it was only after intervention of Directorate of Education that this information was revealed.”

Director Education Kashmir Shah Faesal said they are going for “massive reshuffle” from next week across the Valley. “Recently we have framed new transfer policy and we in consultation with institute heads are going for a massive reshuffle of teachers. Earlier the transfers were for only officers but now we are also transferring over staying teachers,” the Director told Excelsior.

Faesal admitted that there are teachers who due to their proximity with influential lobbies have not been transferred since decades. “We are holding ‘Transfer Melas’ as well and one would also be held in Anantnag. From next week you will see the change,” he assured. He added that the rationalization of staff would also be ensured.