BENGALURU: The transfer process for government school teachers in the state has been put off for another three months, affecting schools in rural areas. Officials attributed this delay mainly to a fraction of teachers who, facing compulsory transfers, tried to thwart the process in order to stay in their respective units.
This year, when the Department of Public Instruction started the transfer process, which includes 5 per cent compulsory transfers, they faced many hurdles, causing the process to be delayed at least five times since June. The first revised transfer time table of Government Primary and Secondary School Teachers for the year 2018-19 was ordered on July 11.
Days later, a revised time table was put out on July 19. The third revised time table was only for Government Primary School Teachers and was announced on July 30. The fourth and final schedule so far, for Primary Teachers and Secondary School Teachers, was out on August 20.
Officials cite a number of reasons for the delay in the transfers, which ought to have completed by August as per a June 1 order. “It started with the Lok Sabha elections and then there was a problem with the software, that caused a mismatch in the teachers’ data. In between, teachers who were to be transferred sought relaxations. Officials also had to deal with the problem of fake certificates. Teachers had also approached the Chief Minister about the compulsory transfers,” said a source.
With the new schedule, it would seem, the transfer will conclude by the end of September. High school teachers’ intra-unit transfers counselling will resume from August 23.
Belagavi, which was hit by floods, saw a delay in the counselling of high school teachers, which would have completed the intra-unit transfers. However, now that the floods have subsided, the counselling for these teachers will resume on August 23 and 24.
High school physical education teachers and special teachers (art and craft), who are a small percentage of teachers and whose intra-unit transfers has been on hold, will have their round of counselling on August 26. High school teachers, whose mutual transfers are pending within the educational unit, will have their counselling on August 27.