Punjab CM digitally orders mass transfers of 19,905 school teachers

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh digitally ordered mass general transfers of school teachers through the online portal of the Education Department, in line with the Teachers Transfer Policy-2019

Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Wednesday digitally ordered mass general transfers of school teachers through the online portal of the Education Department, in line with the Teachers Transfer Policy-2019.

With the touch of a button, the Chief Minister cleared the transfer of 10,099 teachers and volunteers to the station of their choice purely on merit basis, according to a statement.

A total of 35,386 online applications were received from aspiring teachers and volunteers, of which 15,481 were found ineligible as they were found short of the prescribed parameters of the policy. The remaining 19,905 were found eligible for transfer.

For the first time, Computer Teachers and various categories of Education Volunteers were brought into the ambit of the Teachers Transfer Policy.

Accompanied by the state Education Minister Vijay Inder Singla, the Chief Minister said that the unique teachers transfer policy has been instrumental in successfully achieving the goal of quality education through filling of vacant posts. "This has helped in ensuring uninterrupted academic session, besides giving enormous job satisfaction to the teachers to work at the places of their choice exclusively on merit," he said.

He said that the State government would soon enact the Teachers Transfer Act for transfer of teachers, in place of the existing system of notification issued by the School Education Department.

He lauded various projects of the School Education Department for sprucing up infrastructure and improving the quality of education in government schools.

Under the online system, so far over 50 percent transfer applications have been approved with utmost transparency.

As many as 10,099 teachers, including 4,405 masters, 3,748 primary teachers and 718 lecturers, as well as adequate number of computer teachers working under Punjab ICT Education Society (PICTES), have availed the benefit of the policy, apart from different categories of Education Volunteers and Education Providers working under 'Smagra Sikhiya Abhiyan'.