Ministry responds to teachers transfer

THE Ministry of Education has responded to concerns raised by Opposition MP Hem Chand on teachers being transferred without prior notice.

Mr Chand said it was inappropriate for teachers to learn on their first day in school that someone else was there in their place because they had been transferred.

He said the ministry’s human resources department was in shambles, creating a chaotic situation for not only the teachers but for schools and students too.

In response, the ministry in a media statement said in just three months, it handled 1185 transactions and that the transfer portal was operational from September to October 2023.

However, only about 50 per cent of teachers submitted their applications online while others applied by email or by sending paper copies through their unions or through other relevant parties.

The ministry stated late applications, which they continued to receive and accommodate, prevented them from closing the transfer portal.

“We continue to accommodate transfer requests based on genuine reasons such as medical grounds, safe motherhood, and humanitarian grounds to ensure teachers are with their families as we strongly believe that a happy workforce is a productive workforce,” the statement read.

“The previous arrangement was that teachers were given preference to select their schools, and this would be reviewed because teachers are reluctant to move to remote and maritime schools.

“Currently, the team is processing long pending vacancies left unattended by the former administration.”

It stated that most heads of department positions were left vacant for several years with 98 per cent still acting and the current administration was working on the regularisation of these positions, which reflected the poor leadership capabilities of the last administration.