LAHORE, Aug 15: The transfer of three women teachers to a boys’ school in Lahore exposes the tall claims of the provincial education department regarding introduction of a scheme aimed at rationalising teacher-student ratio at all public sector institutions.
The transfer of elementary schoolteachers Nighat Tahira, Syeda Mumtaz Begum and Manzoor Akhtar of the junior wing of the Government Saint Francis High School Anarkali to the Government Muslim High School No 2 Civil Lines for Boys which has no elementary wing shows the process has not been worked out by the district government, ignoring the very objective of rationalisation scheme for which the whole exercise is carried out. Besides, there has been no example that a woman schoolteacher is transferred to a secondary level institution meant for boys.
Interestingly, a notification issued in this regard says the process has been completed in compliance with the EDO (Education), DCO and district nazim. It seems that all three top officials had signed the notification without giving a reading to it.
“If the officials concerned did not bother to check that the women teachers had been transferred to the boys’ school, how they are following the so-called rationalisation scheme is any body’s guess,” says a senior schoolteacher.
In an application to the EDO (education), the three women teachers have pleaded that they should not be posted at the boys’ school, as it will be very difficult for them to serve there along with male staff. They sought posting in a girls’ school.
The department has also transferred some (male) teachers of the Government High School Mozang to the Government High School Jia Bagga near Raiwind. Such transfers to far-flung areas are also disturbing for the teachers. “So far the male teachers are concerned, they can afford to cover such long distances to reach the workplace but for women it is very difficult,” the teacher said.
Education Secretary (schools) Capt Zahid Saeed (retired) told Dawn that the women teachers should not have been transferred to a boys’ secondary school. He called a meeting on Thursday (today) to discuss the matter.
He said the department was considering posting women teachers at the elementary boys’ schools, as it had 70 per cent such teachers at hand, however, it had no plans to place them in boys secondary schools in future.
Regarding the rationalisation scheme, Mr Saeed said it had been launched in Lahore initially and after analysing its pros and cons it would be implemented in other parts of the province as well. On a question pertaining to transfers of teachers in far-flung areas, he said this aspect would also be discussed at the meeting.
