A story by Mujahid Hashmi
The functionality of the institutions reflects good governance and service delivery. Against the run of merit, the institutions in Punjab are falling apart due to corruption and nepotism. Higher Education Department is a vital organization for higher education in the province. The Punjab Government Rules of business, 2011, empower the Higher Education Department to legislate, execute and implement all the education standards. Regulating the human resource of the department is the fundamental obligation of the higher education department. However, the present administration of the Higher Education Department is not only compromising the standards of higher education but also developing a culture of nepotism and corruption in the department regarding transfers, postings, and appointments.
The sources inside the Higher Education Department have informed the republic policy that the whole system of administration is functional on the direction of the Chief Minister Secretariat. CM directives, whether in writing or conveyed through the CM staff, are the only policy guidelines of the department. The department is only implementing the directives of the CM secretariat in transfers, postings and appointments. Tragically, the Higher Education Departments’ transfers and postings are being carried out in the mid of educational year. It never happened earlier that hundreds of lecturers and professors would have been transferred in the mid of an educational season. This practice of untimely transfers has destroyed the whole academic year of the students.
Then, these transfers are off-merit too. Several Principals have complained that these transfers have ruined the student’s academic year and the college’s whole administration. They complain that many subjects’ seats are being converted to other subjects without any rationale. It has resulted in the overstaffing of many colleges. For example, if there is only a single seat for a lecturer in Urdu in a college, the other seats of Biology, Chemistry and Computer science are being converted to Urdu not only for the position of a lecturer but also for assistant professors and associate professors. It has resulted in a college with more than five Urdu professors, and no other professors of different subjects are available. Therefore, the principals of colleges need more staff to run the different periods of the classes. Then, due to these irrational transfers, several colleges are under-staff now. There are no teachers available in the mid of an academic year. Hence, it has resulted in the massive breakdown of educational activities in these colleges. Several principals are complaining about how can the majority of teachers be transferred in the mid of an academic year.
Earlier, the Higher Education Department appointed Deputy Directors of Colleges on nepotism without following the procedure of law. Accordingly, a few disgruntled professors filed a writ against the appointment orders.
Several principals have attributed that HED’s irrational Transfer policy has deteriorated public sector colleges as HED is violating its transfer policy. There have been severe violations in violating the transparent online transfer policy. Sources inside the department state on the condition of anonymity that manual and direct transfers are a way to fleece money from the pockets of lecturers and professors at the cost of education for poor students who have no refuge than Government Colleges.
Mostly, these transfers are being done from the colleges of the periphery to the core. Some colleges have even zero staff with the transfer of all teachers. These untimely transfers have adversely hit the colleges of South Punjab. For example, Govt. Associate college Latifabad, Distt Bahawalnagar, has left without teachers. Sources inside the Higher Education Department claim that all those professors who have links with the CM secretariat are being transferred to colleges of their choice without subject or grade specifications. Even a single teacher is being transferred without the provision of alternatives. Hence, all the district college administration and principals need help to run the functions of colleges. The merit and transparency are being compromised to the extent that the newly appointed teachers of the 2022 batch are being transferred despite joining within a few days. These transfers have rendered thousands of students admitted in colleges of remote areas and periphery without teachers; thus, the students and parents are lamenting the absence of teaching staff.
Sources inside the Higher Education Department claim that HED is violating its rules and regulations by delivering transfers at the peak of the academic session. It has never happened in the history of the department. HED is crippled by politically motivated decisions as well as corrupt practices of High officials of HED. The involvement of the CM secretariat is to the extent that nothing legal, lawful or transparent is being considered. This flood of transfers has overburdened colleges in major cities, as most recruits are from the major cities. This is the fundamental flaw in the recruitment process. Centralization of college recruitment is the fundamental cause of failing the higher education system. The recruitment must be college based so that transfer and posting issues may not ruin the colleges.
Principals are complaining that No STR (student-teacher ratio) is being applied. Hence, that is the fundamental contradiction to the transfer policy of HED. Resultantly, most of the teachers need their proper load work. Then, a few teachers are teaching in the colleges, and most of the teachers need something to teach in the colleges. Female teachers are being irrationally transferred to male colleges, which has imbalanced the ratio of male teachers in their colleges and created some social problems. Even sources claim in the HED that it seems that there is a loot sale of transfers in the colleges. All agents are wooing the professors for their desired transfers against the required money. The whole process of rationalization of teachers has been destroyed.
Principals of several colleges attribute it to the worst transfer spree that has destroyed the educational organization. Even it is being done under the government of PTI, which claims transparency and merit.