SAHIWAL: The Punjab Higher Education Department (HED) is facing mounting criticism over its new e-transfer policy, which has inadvertently triggered a gender imbalance in the teaching posts across 800 public sector colleges of Punjab.

The policy, aimed at streamlining transfers, has led to a notable decline in sanctioned posts for male teachers. The impact is particularly stark at erstwhile male-only graduate colleges, which after the introduction of four-year BS programmes, have been reclassified as co-educational institutions.

Data from Punjab government’s portal reveals a steep reduction in posts of male teachers over the past five years. Through the e-transfer portal approximately 735 sanctioned male cadre posts have been filled by female lecturers. Resultantly, reducing the proportion of male faculty to just 40pc.

Historically, HED has separate male general cadre and female general cadre, with no co-education colleges in formal nomenclature. According to a February 21, 2020 notification, 11,194 posts were sanctioned for males and 12,012 for females, primarily assigned to gender-segregated colleges.

The Section 6 (XIII) Explanation of the 2024 e-transfer policy allows, “male and female teachers to male and female colleges, respectively, and in the case of co-education colleges, both can apply.”

Critics argue that this new category, created without approval of legislative or financial oversight, is both unauthorised and unjustified. Notably, the Punjab Public Service Commission continues to induct lecturers separately for male and female colleges in grade 17, without no provision for co-educational postings.

The imbalance has deepened with the February 16, 2021 notification that redesignated degree colleges as associate and graduate colleges, eliminating the two-year BA programme.

The 83 male graduate colleges having BS four-year programme out of the total 272 were redesignated as co-education institutions, while all 173 female colleges retained their exclusive status. Punjab now has 191 male-only, 431 female-only, and 83 co-educational colleges. This reclassification has reduced sanctioned male posts from 11,194 to 5,549.

A recent HED order transferred 80 female lecturers to historically male institutions, raising legal and constitutional concerns around equal opportunity (Article 25) and gender-based safeguards (Article 24).

Punjab Professors and Lecturers Association (PPLA) President Faiza Rana confirmed that 735 male posts were now occupied by female staff across nine divisions. These include Lahore (204), Faisalabad (99), Multan (75), Gujrat (52), Gujranwala (22), Dera Ghazi Khan (07), Sahiwal (36) Rawalpindi (120) and Faisalabad (99).

She clarified that PPLA was not opposed to female transfers, but she said that male cadre sanctioned posts must not be displaced.

Qaiser Sajjad, a college teacher from south Punjab, filed a petition at the Lahore High Court’s Bahawalpur Bench challenging the imbalance. The court directed the HED to address the grievances, however, the HED focused on the four-tier service structure and college promotions. Source close to the situation said that Mr Qaiser has now appealed to the Punjab chief secretary to address the discrepancies.

The PPLA demands include an immediate halt to postings females against male cadre seats, restoration of the original bifurcated cadre structure and reservation of designated female seats in co-ed institutions.

Published in Dawn, July 10th, 2025