Baramulla, July 08: Teachers and educators in Baramulla district of North Kashmir have staged strong protest demonstrations over alleged favoritism, nepotism, and corruption in recent transfer and posting in which female teachers of Baramulla have been transferred to far-flung and frontier schools.
Several teachers from different education zones in Baramulla have claimed that the transfers were conducted in violation of the official transfer policy. In April of this year, the government introduced a comprehensive policy (ATD) for the transfer of teachers and other education department officials, which was expected to bring transparency by implementing an online mode for the process.
However, a group of teachers have come forward and alleged that certain individuals were given preferential treatment and assigned desired postings, while others including several female teachers were unjustly sent to remote and border areas.
One teacher expressed their disappointment, stating, “It is sheer discrimination and marginalization because concern authorities have transferred few teachers with prize posting while as females have been sent to Uri and other remote schools having 5-6 kilometers walking distance while others have been left out despite having more than eight years stay during the transfer process.”
Several instances have been highlighted where teachers were transferred from one school to another within a short distance of a few kilometers, disregarding the Zonation method outlined in the transfer policy. This inconsistency has raised concerns among the affected teachers.The affected teachers include those with health issues and female teachers who have been transferred to remote regions with challenging terrain.
They have appealed to the LG administration, DC Baramulla, and Director of School Education to investigate the matter and address their grievances.In response to the allegations, Chief Education Officer (CEO) Balbir Singh of Baramulla has dismissed the claims as baseless. He stated, “There is no truth to the accusations of favoritism or nepotism in the transfer policy or the transfer list.
The teachers were transferred in accordance with the ATD policy.”The CEO further clarified that the transfer list undergoes a thorough review process, reaching the offices of the Commissioner Secretary and Director of School Education before any transfers are finalized. He added that nearly 700 teachers were transferred using the ATD mode.