Transferring Punjab teachers

The demon of transfers that has always been lurking behind Punjab Government schoolteachers has been exorcised. The Punjab Cabinet has approved the long-sought online teacher transfer policy. Unless facing a complaint or performing poorly, now a teacher could broadly remain in one place of posting throughout his/her career. The decision comes as a huge relief and paves the way for the educators to concentrate on doing their main job — of teaching children — well. The shifting of staff has its merits but frequent relocations do have a disruptive effect on their life. Postings as a vindictive tool are not unheard of and have a detrimental upshot on the quality of teaching. Besides, the tutor-taught bond takes time to build. A crack in it can cost a sensitive child’s education dearly. It cannot be overlooked.

Now, with this deficiency apparently addressed, the tutors should have at least one reason less to be out in the streets: there was a sharp spike in such protests in the last year, ever since the policy of compulsory transfers every seven years was introduced. The exercise was a potent breeding ground for corruption as it would have led to a scramble for choice postings by over one lakh teachers regularly. The new policy is designed to goad the teachers to do their best for the children.

The applicants for transfer will be evaluated by marks that have been allocated for academic performance, merit in the zone, remote area postings and extracurricular activities. The abysmal results of students in board exams have been attributed to lopsided teacher deployment, among other myriad problems. A strict and transparent implementation of the new rule should ensure an optimal teacher-student ratio in every school, right up to the border and in the interior areas. It is a test as much for the educators as the authorities since efforts to bend the rules often make a mockery of the best of intentions. The ultimate aim should be to make government schools so attractive that they also become the first choice for every educator’s child.