That an effective transfer policy (ATD) is in vogue in the School Education Department/ SED of Jammu and Kashmir, is appreciable. Under the policy, the transfer of teachers is done after two or three years of service at a school. It is in the best interest of students should teachers are prohibited from overstaying at a particular institute. Transferring teachers to new environs broadens their learning experience and allows them to work comfortably.
Abiding properly by the ATD, the SED transfers the General Line Teachers (GlTs), masters, FAT teachers, migrant substitute teachers and lecturers. These categories of teachers are in minority at every school while one category of teachers— the Reheber-e-Taleems ( ReTs) numbering about seventy thousand — forms almost 80% of the teaching staff at every school.
This largest section of teachers is not transferred at all —though they have been at their initial -appointment schools for more than twenty years — on the premise that they are school specific; cannot be transferred thus. However, they are deployed on need basis out of their appointment schools (Primary and Middle schools) to teach at high and higher secondary schools during an academic session.
Interestingly, transfer is a movement of an employee from one job, section, department or position to another at the same or another place, where his/her salary, status and responsibility are the same. So, in case of teachers, transfer means their movement from one school to another with no change in salary, status and responsibility.
Transfer is done for many reasons: One, an organization may require placing a right man on the right job. For example, we have a high school where we need a teacher to teach maths or English or social science. Such a teacher is not always available among GLTs, masters and even lecturers but is available among RRTs (Regularized Rehber-e-Taleem teachers). But, we do not transfer that RRT to the school reasoning that transfer policy does not cover him/her. This mindset calls for an immediate change for RRTs’ much needed inclusion in the transfer policy in the interest of public, the students.
Two, transfer is done to ensure better utilization of an employee at a suitable place. For example, an RRT may not be performing satisfactorily and adequately at a school because of many unavoidable social / family issues. May be the RRT teacher is not performing well due to boredom at the school; needs transfer to break the monotony and get relief from the routine. The teacher needs to be transferred to a school where he/she can be more useful or where his/her services can be better utilized.
Three, transfer is done to take care of family related issues especially among female teachers. Thousands of lady ReTs have been married far off from the schools where they are working since their recruitment. Traveling to and back from the schools affects their duty, their children and their married life. Should these teachers not be transferred and posted at schools within an easy reach of their place of duty?
So, a sound, just and impartial transfer policy should be evolved in the department on the basis of the above said factors and also on skill and competence. And like other categories of teachers, RRTs too should be transferred to streamline them with the rest of the employees. Feelings of inferiority will also end among this largest category of the teachers if the ATD embraces them.
All ReT’s and non-ReT’s must be viewed as a precious human resource with truckloads of knowledge, skills, talent and abilities. The department should make the best use of this resource leaving no room for the birth of bias and discrimination among any category of teachers in terms of the transfer policy in question. Rets have become general line teachers after their initial five-year service period, an undeniable fact clearly written in their regularization orders. As an employee, it is their right to be part of the current transfer policy. Thus, to gain exposure to new ideas and more teaching-learning experience in the company of the other categories of teachers.
The scope of the ongoing ATD (Annual Transfer Drive) must be extended to include in it all kinds of RRTs with no restrictions attached. The transfer will renew their working zeal, release their pent up energy and raise their level of competence and performance.
(Author is a teacher and RK columnist. He can be reached on: [email protected])
