M A I N   N E W S

Punjab bans transfer of teachers
By Sarbjit Singh
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, July 4 — The Punjab Government today banned the transfer of teachers in the state with immediate effect.

The authorities concerned said that departmental action would be initiated against those teachers who approached the government for transfer.

Confirming the ban, the Punjab Education Minister, Mr Tota Singh, said only handicapped persons, widows, unmarried girls and the wives of Army personnel had been given exemption from the ban. As many as 7,000 teachers had been transferred during the past few days.

All surplus vacant posts in the urban areas have been shifted to rural areas. A large number of promotions of teachers have been ordered. According to information available at the official level, 2,300 head teachers have been posted after promotion in Government primary schools in the rural areas. Besides, 875 centre head teachers have been posted in rural government primary schools after promotion. One centre head teacher is posted in a cluster of nine schools.

Quizzed about vacant posts in the rural areas, especially in the border areas and districts like Mansa; Sangrur and the Ghaggar belt of Patiala district, Mr Tota Singh said that already 7,230 posts had been advertised and the recruitment process to fill vacancies in the primary schools would start by the end of this month. He said all vacant posts in the rural areas would be filled within the next three months.

He said posting in rural areas after promotion had been made mandatory. All those promoted during the past few days had been posted in rural areas. As many as 792 posts of lecturer had been filled after the promotion of teachers in rural areas. Lecturers posted in the rural schools would have to stay there at least for three years.

He said an exercise had also begun to wind up the Directorate of Primary Education set up a new Directorate of Elementary Education to meet the requirements of the National Education Policy. Education up to the eighth standard had been made compulsory and the Union Government would provide grants for this purpose to those states having a Directorate of Elementary Education.

Mr Tota Singh said the process of rationalisation of posts in the urban areas would start soon. There were several schools in the urban areas which had surplus staff.