DSEK Transfers 27 Staff Back to Gurez to Address Shortage

Suhail Khan

Srinagar, May 8: Directorate of School Education Department has ordered the transfer and reposting of 27 lecturers to schools in Gurez Valley, following concerns over staff shortages raised by MLA Gurez Nazir Ahmad Khan during the recent Legislative Assembly session.

The transfers were ordered through Order No. 192 DSEK of 2026, issued on May 8 by the Director of School Education Kashmir. The order stated that the transfers were approved by the competent authority and carried out in the interest of administration. All the lecturers have been sent to different higher secondaries of Gurez valley.

The development comes nearly a month after Education Minister Sakeena Itoo assured the Assembly that around 150 principals, lecturers and teachers would be detached and sent back to their original postings in Gurez and other far-flung areas facing shortages of teaching staff.

Earlier in February this year Chief Education Officer (CEO) Bandipora cancelled the deployment of 34 teachers who were originally appointed in Education Zone Gurez but had been serving in other zones of the district.

         Earlier students and parents had raised serious concerns over the staff shortage in Schools of Gurez valley especially the subject specific lecturers at secondary schools. MLA Gurez Nazir Ahmad Khan Gurezi had highlighted the issue during the Assembly session, stating that schools in the border constituency were facing an acute shortage of teaching staff, affecting academic activities in the region.

According to the transfer list, lecturers from subjects including Botany, Commerce, Economics, English, History, Physics, Zoology, Urdu and Political Science have been reposted to various institutions in Gurez and adjoining areas, including BHSS Dawar, HSS Kilshay, HSS PTL, HSS Badugam and HSS Izmarag.

Among the transfers, Mohd Iqbal Samoon was shifted from BHSS Manigam to BHSS Dawar, Shahid Ahmad Saleem Samoon from BHSS Bandipora to HSS Badugam, Mohd Maqbool Akhoon from BHSS Bandipora to HSS Badugam, and Waseem Raja Malik from HSS Chuntimulla to HSS Baduab.

Officials said the transferred staff had earlier been posted outside Gurez despite originally belonging to the area. The fresh postings are aimed at addressing vacancies in schools located in remote and border areas.

Residents of Gurez welcomed the move and said the shortage of teachers had affected students for several years. Locals also appreciated the intervention of the education minister and the MLA for taking up the issue.

A senior education official said the latest order was part of a wider plan to strengthen the education sector in far-flung regions and indicated that more transfers under the government’s earlier commitment were expected in the coming weeks.

However, some local youth alleged that the recent lecturer transfer order appeared selective, claiming that only lecturers from Gurez had been transferred to the Valley. They argued that if the posts fall under a state cadre, the transfer policy should be implemented uniformly for all employees. “Selective implementation is unfair and unacceptable. Authorities should stop politicising the issue,” they said.

Another netizen questioned the transparency of the process, stating that equality in policy implementation is essential and that transfer rules must apply equally to everyone. The individual urged the concerned authorities to clarify the criteria behind the transfers and ensure fairness and accountability in the process, saying that “people deserve answers, not ambiguity.”