The School Education Department is likely to finalise the transfers of the teaching staff under the Annual Transfer Drive (ATD)-2020 in schools by May 10.
In an official communication addressed to the Director School Education Kashmir, the Administrative Secretary School Education Department (SED) Bishwajit Kumar Singh said that the tentative transfer list should be displayed by April 30 in a given format devised by the Administrative Department.
“Seven days time should be given to the teaching staff to submit their representations who have been displaced against their choice. The final list should be finalised by May 10 and put in public domain immediately,” the official communication reads.
It reads that the transfers of lecturers in different subjects was going smoothly and the reshuffle of lecturers in most of the subjects was finalised and put up in the public domain as well.
“However, it has been observed that no tentative transfer list has been put in public domain in the case of masters and teachers for representation by the applicants who have been displaced against their choice,” the official communication reads.
“In view of the present prevailing situation it will be better to put the tentative transfer list in the format of the School Education Department in public domain,” it reads.
However, the Administrative Secretary has said that the implementation of final transfer list would be subject to COVID-19 protocol at the time of finalisation keeping in view the prevailing situation across J&K.
J&K government in February issued instructions for transfers in the SED to streamline the availability of the teachers.
Having started in mid-February the department claimed to complete it by the end of the month.
The move was initiated after complaints about the disproportionate Pupil Teacher Ratio (PTR) and non-availability of subject-specific teachers in the schools, particularly in the far-off areas.
The department had decided to prepare a subject-wise, cadre-wise tentative list of transfers so that no school should have surplus teachers in the same subject.
However, around two months have passed but the department is still finalising the final transfer list of the teaching staff as per the ATD-2020.
Amid the delay in completion of the process, the teachers posted in the “hard zones” continue to suffer due to their prolonged stint in these zones.
These teachers were supposed to be shifted to “normal zones” after completing one-year term in the “hard zones”.
Meanwhile, the Administrative Secretary School Education Department said the transfer list of the lecturers was complete while the list of other cadres would be finalised within days.
“We want to reshuffle the staff keeping in view the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic,” he said.