NALGONDA: In response to the report “Nalgonda schools suffer as 68 teachers defy transfer orders,” published in TNIE on November 6, the education authorities have come forward to resolve the issue. Officials were told to withhold the November salary of those teachers who failed to report for duty. It has been confirmed that only six teachers have not joined, and their salaries are being withheld.
A senior leader of a teachers’ union suggested stronger measures, stating that those transferred via “work order”, who failed to join their respective schools by October 12, should have been considered absent. He added that such decisive action would prevent similar incidents in future.
Previously, the district administration faced criticism for failing to act against teachers in Nalgonda who openly disregarded the collector’s transfer orders. A total of 270 teachers were transferred in two phases on “work order”, but 68 did not join their new stations.
Although a show-cause notice was issued on October 10, warning of disciplinary action if they failed to join within two days, the teachers did not respond. Despite this defiance, the administration was accused of taking no follow-up action. Consequently, classes were not being conducted in several schools due to the teacher shortage.
The state government had issued directives to transfer teachers on “work order” from schools with a surplus of staff — specifically where there was more than one teacher for 30 students in primary schools, or more than one teacher per subject in high schools, besides the headmaster — to schools with staffing deficiencies. Following this mandate, the collector issued two sets of orders (Order No. 4683/B2/2025), transferring over 270 school assistants, SGTs, and school teachers from various mandals of Nalgonda to different locations.
The collector’s order, issued on September 18, explicitly stated that all teachers transferred on “work order” must be relieved and join their allotted schools on the same day.
When many failed to comply, the District Education Officer (DEO) directed all Mandal Education Officers and Head Masters on October 4 to submit details of non-joining teachers within two days. Based on the resulting lists, the DEO issued show-cause notices on October 10 to approximately 68 defiant teachers, warning of disciplinary action under the CCA Rules 1991 if they failed to join within two days.
The story is reported by A Seshacharyulu for The New Indian Express
