SWABI, Feb 21: A major reshuffle of teachers in the district is on the cards after their promotion to BPS-15 and BPS-16 under the newly adopted promotion policy, introduced by the provincial government.

Sources in the district education department said that Certified Teachers (CTs), Physical Education Teachers (PETs), Arabic Teachers (ATs), Theology Teachers (TTs), Drawing Masters (DMs), Qaris and Primary School Teachers (PSTs) were promoted to next grade. It was a longstanding demand of the teachers of public sector schools, they added.

Malgary Ustazan (MU), the teacher wing of ruling Awami National Party, claimed credit for the promotion of teachers. MU provincial general secretary Amjad Ali said that a large number of teachers would be transferred soon. The officers concerned had already started work on the transfer policy, he said.

Sources said that more than 1000 male and female primary teachers were promoted to grade BPS-15 in the district. About 900 teachers of middle, high and higher secondary schools in the district were promoted to BPS-16, they added.

Sources said that about 59,000 teachers were promoted in the entire province under the new policy. According to rules, the middle school teachers, who were promoted to BPS-16, would be transferred to high and higher secondary schools in their respective district.

Similarly, there would be only one BPS-15 teacher in a primary school, heading and running the institution. Sources said that if two or three teachers of the same school were promoted to BPS-15 then only the senior most one would be left there while the others would be transferred.

Deputy District Education Officer Islam Bahadur, when contacted, said that promoted teachers of high and higher secondary schools would not be reshuffled. Only the promoted teachers of middle schools would be transferred to high and higher secondary schools, he added. He said that district education officer was authorised to transfer teachers. “We have started work on the newly adopted policy,” he said.

Sources said that Senior English teachers (SETs), who were usually headmasters of middle schools, were promoted from BPS-16 to BPS-17 after a decade. “Now the PETs, TTs, CTs and ATs have also been promoted to BPS-16. If they are not transferred to high and higher secondary school there might be a clash among the teachers because they now enjoy the same privileges and position,” sources said.

Sources said that there might some problems in transferring the PSTs. About 70 teachers in BPS-15 would be transferred to far-flung schools of the mountainous belt, they said.