767 teachers request for transfer: Kumar
The Ministry of Education, Heritage and Arts has received 767 transfer applications from its teachers this year.
This was revealed by the Minister Premila Kumar in parliament on Wednesday.
Mrs Kumar said these applications were for many reasons including:
Those wanting to be close to their families,
To look after their sick family members,
Join their spouse
Have served three years in a remote area and were eligible for transfer.
“Mr Speaker, Sir, teacher transfer is also initiated by the ministry when teachers retire, resign or pass away or when there is shortage or surplus of teachers in a school,” she said.
“To manage a large number of teacher transfer requests, an annual teacher transfer window is open where teachers can submit their transfer applications.
“This is done during the months of July to August when placements for the following year is being considered.”
She said there were a number of factors that needed to be considered when one is processing teacher transfer applications.
“This includes checking schools that may have surplus teachers, a replacement for a specific subject combination or teacher’s willingness to move to another location when he or she did not apply for transfer.
“Sometimes teachers make arrangements to swap schools which is facilitated by the ministry after clearance from the Head of School.”
She also revealed the ministry employs 13,200 teaching staff spread across 175 secondary schools, 735 primary schools and 871 early childhood education centres.
She added that the ministry was managing employee transfers based on our Teacher Transfer Policy and Procedures.