Teachers in government schools do not see the possibility for conduct of transfers through zero-counselling procedure at this juncture of the academic year.
There are only a few months left for completion of the academic year, and the teachers at primary and upper primary level have just begun in-person classes. Transfers at this juncture is bound to unsettle teachers and could cause negative impact on the learning process of students, many reason out.
The School Education Department had carried out transfers of District Educational Officers and Block Resource Teachers based on zero-counselling procedure in recent months. The procedure is likely to be extended for transfer of Block Educational Officers, it is learnt.
Teachers’ associations had pleaded against zero-counselling method for transfers reasoning that theirs was not an administrative job, and that the practice of transferring them out of a school after a certain period of time must not be adopted. Representatives of teachers’ associations had impressed upon the ministry that educational advancement of students has a direct bearing on the presence of same teachers for a long duration.
The experience, awareness of students’ level of grasp, and familiarity with the local environment are factors that have an impact on effectiveness of teaching-learning process, a headmaster said.
Also, senior teachers on the verge of retirement will have to face both mental and physical stress in the event of relocation, a senior teacher said, making a case for the usual procedure of transfer counselling to enable only willing teachers to exercise their options for relocation.
