Punjab teacher unions allege ‘rigging, bias, favouritism’ in online transfer policy

Dismissing the allegations, Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains said transfers have been done transparently.

Sanjha Adhyapak Morcha convener Sukhwinder Singh Chahal said the Punjab government has violated the transparent online transfer policy of teachers in every possible way to “give selected stations to its favourites”.

“The government deliberately did not show many stations vacant during the station selection process to adjust its favourites and blocked vacant posts in urban and semi-urban schools under the guise of online transfers. The special needs category was also not met, and the stations demanded by them were also given to the favourites. This is open rigging, favouritism and blatant misuse of power,” said Chahal in a statement.

The leaders of the front, giving further details, said Junior Assistant Rahul Sharma from Government Senior Secondary School Handiya (Barnala) has not been transferred to any station, while the requested second and third choice stations are still vacant.

Similarly, Amandeep Kumar, clerk Sahas Naiwala (Barnala), has been transferred to the third choice station, Sahas Nangal (Barnala), while the first and second choice stations are still vacant. It is incomprehensible for whom the vacant stations have been reserved, they said.

“The Government Senior Senior Secondary School mistress Paramjit Kaur of Bathinda has been transferred from Sheikhpura (Bathinda) to School of Eminence, Kot Shamir (Bathinda). This station was also not shown while filling in the station choice. But still, how the transfer order was issued remains a mystery. Ajay Kumar, Punjabi Master, Sahas Gurthi (Bathinda), while filling the station choice, had only opted for one station, Sahas Bibi Wala (Bathinda), which was 5 km away. But the online system has changed it to Sahas Kesar Singh Wala (Bathinda), which is 65 km away,” alleged a teacher.

The leaders of the Sanjha Adhyapak Morcha stated that in a meeting with education officials, they had demanded the inclusion of teachers’ merit marks in the transfer. However, due to the department’s need to commit such scams, the merit marks were not included in the transfer, they alleged. The Morcha strongly demanded that the merit marks of the transferred teachers be shown.

‘Will not tolerate betrayal of teachers’

The teacher leaders said one of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government’s main agendas was to provide transparent and bribe-free administration. They said the functioning of the education department raises significant questions about the government’s performance. The leaders warned that they will not tolerate “betrayal” of teachers.

They invited all the affected teachers to reach the directorate of the education department in Mohali, where the officials will be asked to answer for “this fraud and if justice was not done, then a struggle will be started”.

DTF state president Vikram Dev said that special stations were allocated to “favourites” and were not displayed as vacant during the station selection process. “Teachers are shocked how transfer orders have been issued for those stations which were never shown vacant,” he said.

He said, for instance, vacant posts for social studies teachers were not shown as “vacant” for Government Senior Secondary School, Mall Road (Girls), Bathinda, and Government High School Chandsar Basti Bathinda, but still the transfers have been ordered for these posts.

“It is a clear and obvious indication of how favouritism has played out in the entire process,” Dev said in a statement.

“Apart from this, many teachers also have objections that they have not been transferred to the station shown vacant to them. Similarly, some teachers have been transferred to the seventh, eighth preference stations, while the first six/seven preference stations have remained vacant,” said the statement.

The leaders, while condemning the education department, said teachers were made to wait for the transfers for more than two months and yet the process executed was full of loopholes.

The statement added that no priority or preference has been given to teachers with disabilities in the transfers and that a third round of transfers should be conducted based on merit.