Commissioner, School Education, S. Suresh Kumar, has instructed the District Education Officers (DEOs) to stall the transfers of 1,400 teachers, the orders for which were given just before the elections.
A GO released to this effect said that the new government has kept the transfers in abeyance in order to review them. The transfer orders were given amidst allegations of gross irregularities of the rule book.
Members of the Andhra Pradesh Teachers’ Federation (APTF) called them ‘paid transfers’ given based on recommendations and payment of money, without following the stipulated counselling process. A section of school teachers has alleged that certain teachers paid bribes and managed to get transfer orders based on either mutual interest or clear vacancy.
State president of the Municipal Teachers’ Federation S. Ramakrishna alleged that a large amount of money had changed hands in the teacher transfers with the connivance of an officer in the Education Department and has demanded a probe into it.
Leaders of the APTF, meanshile, have urged the new TDP-led alliance government in the State to clear the existing chaos in the education sector and bring coherence and clarity in the policies.
Addressing an executive meeting of the federation held on June 7 (Friday), former MLC P. Raghu Varma appealed to the new government to declare a DSC, constitute Pay Revision Committee and initiate immediate measures to solve the problems plaguing the education sector.
The meeting passed a resolution to insist the government for repeal of GO 117 pertaining to merger of schools and merge Classes 3, 4 and 5 in primary schools again.
Their other demands included provision for the students to choose their medium of instruction between English and Telugu, repeal of the Contributory Pension Scheme and revival of the old pension scheme, withdrawal of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and International Baccalaureate (IB) syllabus and establishment of more number of schools in the municipalities in accordance with the growing population.
They also wanted the government to withdraw the cases booked against teachers for participating in protests for their rights and a halt to ‘harassment tactics’ like disciplinary actions, suspensions and slashing increments from their salaries as a punishment.
The federation president Chennupati Manjula presided over the meeting, while former general secretary P. Panduranga Varaprasad Rao and others also spoke.
