₹5 lakh reward for info on bribe being paid in teachers’ transfer

› Transfers are being done in a transparent manner and any political pressure or bribes are not allowed. I appeal to people not to indulge in such actions. OP SONI, school education minister

CHANDIGARH : Punjab school education minister Om Prakash Soni on Wednesday announced that anyone who gives ‘concrete information’ on bribes being paid for teachers’ transfers will be rewarded with ₹5 lakh.

In a statement issued here after presiding over a meeting of officers of the department, Soni said corruption in teachers’ transfers will not be tolerated.

“Transfers are being done in a transparent manner and any political pressure or bribes are not allowed. I appeal to people not to indulge in such actions,” said Soni.

He also directed the officials to ensure printing and distribution of books well before the beginning of the session as piles of books are kept on the board premises and then they are declared trash.

He said that delay in publications of books benefits private publishers and this needs to be curbed. He instructed the officers to fix the responsibility of school principals for the distribution of books in a time-bound manner.

“All the books will be published by the board with the suggestion of experts so that growing trend of guides could be discontinued,” he cautioned the officers.

‘SHUT SCHOOLS OPERATING FROM RESIDENTIAL AREAS’

During the meeting, the minister directed officials to close down schools running in residential buildings in urban areas.

“With the help of the local bodies department, these schools will be shut soon,” the minister said. An officer privy to the meeting said the department would chalk out a plan to go ahead on this.

He said these are the schools which do not have any affiliation and it was a duty of local bodies department to shut them.