THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In a breather for higher secondary school teachers seeking transfer, the Directorate of Higher Secondary School Education (DHSE) has extended the last date for online application of transfer requests on the DHSE website to May 23.
Earlier, the Directorate had given a limited time frame of 48 hours from Thursday 5 pm to Saturday at 5 pm for online requests for transfer. The teachers say that the time was insufficient as they were engaged in various assignments including the plus one admission process and transfer certificate issuance for plus two students. The teachers, hence had sought an extension.
In her order, the Higher Secondary Director P K Jayasree informed that the date for applying transfer had been extended till May 23, 5 pm owing to the request of several Higher Secondary School (HSS) teachers. The order has also mentioned that the updated timeline is applicable for compassionate transfers also. According to O Shoukathali, general secretary, Kerala Higher Secondary Teachers Union, the DHSE decided to extend the date based on the union’s request. Around seven thousand HSS teachers in the state are seeking transfer to their native places. So the teachers need at least five days to apply for transfer without jamming the website. Nevertheless, the decision to extend the date is a relief for HSS teachers,” he said.
The transfer process of higher secondary school teachers has been facing delays for the past few months due to the alleged apathy shown by DHSE in uploading via the ‘Apply for Transfer’ link option on the official web portal managed by the National Informatics Centre (NIC).
The teachers’ associations said the transfer process was to begin from April and end before the beginning of the academic year in June. Previously, the transfer proceedings of HSS teachers was marred in controversy following allegations that transfers were not based on seniority basis.