Muhammad Raafi
SRINAGAR
With a view that teachers should easily reach their schools, the J&K government ordered holding of transfer Mela. However, complaints are emerging that in the grab of transfer Mela, some officials are taking “revenge from their adversaries” and transferring them.
Students and now business community of Saffron town Pampore Thursday alleged that teachers were transferred from Government Girls Higher Secondary School Pampore just to settle personal scores. “It has dented the image of the institution,” said a local.
“Eight teachers were sent to different schools on need basis in Pampore zone,” an official from the school said, “and the Principal said it was done because of the PTR.” PTR is Pupil Teacher Ratio.
Against the requirement of five teachers, the school has 21 faculty members, Principal of the school, Mushtaq Ahmad, told Kashmir Life.
Interestingly, at present this school has 587 students. “Can just five teachers teach 587 students?” a local business man asked. “Principal is misleading people.”
It irked locals when the Principal got two new teachers, after sending eight out on pretext of rationalisation. “If it was done on rationalization basis, why did the Principal engage two new teachers?”
Sharing the concern of the students and the officials of Girls Higher Secondary, a member of the Coordination Committee Pampore said, “the decision of transferring the best teachers is against the interest our children.”
Speaking to Kashmir Life on phone he added, “If the principal is not shifted, we will be forced to come on roads.”
Locals also alleged that the principal literally humiliated a female teacher by not letting her inside the school campus two days after she was transferred.
Giving insight as how the transfer directive has brought imbalance in the school academics, the official said, “a Mathematics teacher who taught four classes, was transferred and a new one was brought in; similarly, two Urdu teachers were sent out and one new was engaged. Our school had two best Bio-Sciences teachers who have been transferred from the school leaving students in lurch. Similarly, an EVSc teacher too was sent out of the school; a PhD teacher who taught Islamic Studies for last four years has been transferred to a Middle level School.”
Further, the official said, “we had two local teachers who took pains in the school management. They were available round the clock. Their results have always been good.” “Instead of encouraging them,” the official said, “they were detached from the school and sent to some other Primary Schools.”
The official added that these two teachers were managing some funds of the school as well. “One of them was admissions convenor and the other took care of constructions, which apparently became cause of their shifting. Now all the money is with the clerks,” he alleged.
When contacted, the Principal of the School, Mushtaq Ahmad Mir said, “The teachers were not working properly in the school. Taking interest of the students in view, they were transferred.”
Interestingly, Mir was himself shifted to Pampore from Soura last year by the PDP Minister Naeem Akhtar led Education department. “He was actually transferred because of his track record. He is due to retire in September,” said the member of Coordination Committee Pampore.
However, Mir added, “transfers were done by the department.”
Mir alleged, “These people are misleading students as those transferred were resorting to Dada Giri.” Before hanging up he told the reporter, “Come to my office and I will tell you the whole story over a cup of tea.”
