Teacher transfer policy a Herculean task, will CM bite the bullet?

KS Tomar

State Education Minister Suresh Bhardwaj and Principal Secretary (Education) KK Pant are making ‘half-hearted’ efforts to give the final shape to the Transfer Policy Act, 2019 for 80,000 primary and secondary school teachers. However, several ministers, MLAs, and leaders of all parties, including the Congress, are vehemently opposed to this reform because it will snatch their discretionary power to get teachers transferred and harass them, besides diluting their aura of influence in society.

Government sources reveal that Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur stands alone on the issue though he seems to be determined to create history by introducing the policy by rising above vote-bank politics. It will be a boon to people in rural and urban areas where educational institutions are understaffed and children continue to suffer since decades.

The draft of the policy, which was finalised by former Principal Secretary (Education) Dr Arun Sharma prior to his retirement this year, is almost ready. The state government though has done precious little in this regard, the BJP governments in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Haryana have implemented the transfer policy, which has brought down political interference in transfers drastically and there is a sense of satisfaction and relief among the teaching fraternity and common people. 

There are startling and shocking facts about the stay of teachers in schools in Shimla and its surrounding areas. There are about 25,000 teachers who are posted in the state capital and nearby areas for the past 25 years. Instead of imparting education in schools, 53 teachers have managed their postings in the office of Director of Education and are doing non-teaching jobs, thereby blocking the vacancies of regular staff.

Justice Rajiv Sharma, a former Judge of the Himachal High Court, had taken to task the previous Congress government for this and ordered it to furnish a list of teachers with their periods of stay and provide justification for the ‘illogical and unreasonable stay’ of teachers. But the outcome was not positive, as lobbyists prevailed upon the government, which did not respond positively and continued to drag its feet.

Interestingly, these ‘privileged’ teachers are wives and relatives of ministers, MLAs, influential politicians belonging to all parties, bureaucrats, private secretaries and personal assistants of ministers. 

The Health Department also faces a similar dilemma. Doctors, nurses and paramedical staff manage their postings to places of their choice, thus depriving health centres and hospitals in villages and remote areas of the required staff. It is indeed a difficult task for any Chief Minister to accomplish.

Political overseers believe that politicians may consider the new policy as a ‘Draconian law’, as it will undermine their authority to punish ‘erring’ teachers for the reasons of party affiliations and personal loyalty.  

The Principal Secretary (Education) recently chaired a meeting of the officials of the department to finalise the policy draft and gave instructions to collect the requisite data prior to its presentation to the Cabinet.

Observers opine that even if the Chief Minister is committed to giving the policy a practical shape, his fellow ministers and MLAs belonging to all parties are creating hurdles in its passage and implementation due to the vote-bank politics. Hence, the chances of such a historical reform seem to be remote. The Chief Minister wants to extend this policy to other departments also, which will be appreciated by lakhs of employees and people in the state.

Experts feel that ministers and MLAs target teachers, who are active in local politics. At times, the Chief Minister and the Education Minister get fed up with the requests for the transfer of teachers, as instead of developmental projects and schemes, elected representatives insist on immediate transfer orders, which is a matter of prestige for them.

According to the salient features of the new policy draft, there is a provision of a maximum of five-year stay in one zone and strict disciplinary action has been made mandatory if any teacher does not obey the orders. Promotions will be based on scores related to the skill of teaching and other parameters. Transfers do continue throughout the year but the new policy will permit transfers and adjustments only from January to March 15 every year. Students suffer when transfers are ordered mid-session. Transfers on the mutual basis are not permitted, which has become a sort of racket in the Education Department. Whenever a teacher completes the tenure of posting, he or she agrees to mutual swap of places and thus making the tenure clause redundant. Now, the big question is will the Chief Minister bite the bullet by going for the transfer policy and annoy his fellow ministers, MLAs, and party leaders? 

(Writer is a political analyst. Views are personal)