Physically-challenged teacher transferred

LAHORE :Special Education Department Punjab while transferring a physically-challenged teacher from Lahore to Vehari, ‘accommodated’ a physically healthy incumbent at her place of posting in the provincial metropolis in sheer violation of the department’s own policy.

Sources in the Special Education Department Punjab said teacher Uzma Asif of Government Deaf and Defective Hearing School for Girls, Chouburji, Lahore, was abruptly transferred and posted at the Government Special Education Centre, Burewala, district Vehari on February 10, 2020 vice Ismat Zahra of Burewala, Vehari, who joined her new place of posting in Lahore the same day.

They said the department staff even forced Uzma Asif, the teacher who is special person, to relieve her duties at Lahore and join her new place of posting in Vehari. They added Uzma Asif, a mother of two who was recruited on special persons’ quota, reluctantly signed her relieving orders and meanwhile also shared her ordeal on Pakistan Citizen Portal.

They said that from the PM’s Portal the complaint was forwarded to the Special Education Department and on Feb 13 the teacher was asked by the department to submit an application to the DG Special Education. Sources said while no relief had been so far provided to the teacher. Despite submission of an application, the department’s staff kept forcing her to join her new place of posting some 300km away from Lahore.

It is pertinent to mention here that according to a January 03, 2019 letter of the Special Education Department addressed to all the district education officers of the department “excluding disabled persons” the normal tenure of posting at one place would be maximum three years which means there is no bar on tenure of posting of a special person at a particular station.

Similarly, a notification from the office of the Chief Minister Punjab No. S.O.(A-III)1-83/2012 dated 07-01-2016 while declaring all disabled persons as special persons directs all the departments to extend full support to the persons with disabilities working in Punjab. In the instant case ‘full support’ was extended to the teacher who, otherwise, was physically healthy as she was ‘accommodated’ in Lahore by displacing a special person to Vehari.

Sources said the aggrieved lady teacher even met Special Education Department secretary the next day of her transfer and narrated her ordeal but except verbal assurance no action was taken on her request so far.

When contacted and asked about the transfer policy for the department’s special persons, Special Education Secretary Syed Javed Iqbal Bukhari said the department didn’t know that the transferred teacher was a special person as no photograph was attached with the order. He, however, added that the notification of the teacher’s transfer would be cancelled on Wednesday (today).