LAHORE: The Punjab government withdrew ban on schoolteachers’ transfer and posting on Wednesday within two days, asking them to put up fresh applications.

On Wednesday, the Punjab School Education Department (SED) issued a notification lifting ban on transfer and posting of schoolteachers with an immediate effect. Teachers seeking transfer have been told to submit fresh applications till Nov 30. The provincial government first lifted the ban on transfer and posting on Oct 30, stating that it wanted to give a ‘relief’ to the teachers who had already submitted applications’.

Transfers and postings were to be done from Nov 1 to 21 when the government abruptly suspended the process on Nov 9, citing “revision of transfer policy”.

Some 81,000 applications were submitted with the department by April last.

A senior official of the school department told Dawn that Punjab School Education Minister Dr Murad Raas first ordered lifting ban on transfers and postings based on applications already submitted. Later, he reversed his own decision to entertain some fresh applicants.

Interestingly, Dr Raas gave conflicting stances on both occasions. When the ban was re-imposed on Nov 9, the minister justified it, saying through a tweet: “The revision of transfer policy and placement of ban on transfer has been put by CM Punjab office. Please direct your questions and queries (in this regard) @CMOfficePunjab”.

On Nov 10, Dr Raas again tweeted: “As per discussion with CM Punjab, the transfer will take place according to policy. All the district authorities will proceed as is, since the ban was lifted. Our only concern is to give immediate relief to the teachers. Transfers will take place as previously scheduled”.

The new SED notification states,“Punjab chief minister has been pleased to relax ban on transfers/postings for the teachers who could not submit their applications for transfer as per schedule issued by this department vide a notification dated 21.03.2018.”

Under the new schedule, the transfer applications will be received till Nov 30 by the competent authority under the transfer policy of 2013; scrutiny of applications will be conducted from Dec 1 to 8, display of merit lists and placement on notice boards and websites on Dec 10, receipt of objections from Dec 11 to 15, removal of objections if any from Dec 17 to 20, issue of transfer orders and placement on notice boards and websites from Dec 21 to 24, appeals against the transferring authority before the next appellate authority from Dec 26 to 27, decisions of Appeals from Dec 28 to 29 and joining till Dec 31.

The chief minister has directed competent authorities to follow laid down criteria. In case of any deviation from the policy of 2013, the authority concerned will be proceeded under the provision of PEEDA Act of 2006.Dr Raas told Dawn that the process of transfer and posting started again after consultation with all stakeholders and they had decided to receive fresh applications to end political interventions in the process.

He said earlier teachers and officials were facing problems due to lack of a tenure security stemming from political intervention of the past governments. “We will not transfer any officer of the department until they do not misuse their job,” he said.

Punjab Teachers Union (PTU) General Secretary Rana Liaquat welcomed the start of transfers and postings of teachers.

He said they were demanding to allow the teachers to submit new applications and the government had accepted it.

Earlier, the PML-N government first lifted ban on transfer and posting of schoolteachers in March and asked them to submit applications from April 1 to April 15 but withdrew orders on the direction of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for the general elections conducted on July 25.

Schoolteachers were assured of resuming transfers after the completion of the elections, but the caretaker government left it for the new set-up to decide.

Published in Dawn, November 15th, 2018