Lucknow: In a significant intervention on Uttar Pradesh’s Basic Education Department transfer policy, Wing Commander (Retd.) Dr Pushkal Vijay Dwivedi, Director General of the Bhartiya Shiksha Anusandhan Parishad (BSAP), has written to the Chief Minister, the Chief Secretary, and the Additional Chief Secretary (Basic Education), urging the state government to reconsider and remove the Pupil-Teacher Ratio (PTR) restriction from the ongoing teacher transfer policy.
In his detailed representation, Dr Dwivedi has argued that the existing provision, which makes PTR a mandatory condition for transfers, is administratively impractical, educationally counterproductive, and insensitive to the humanitarian concerns of thousands of teachers serving far away from their families.
According to the letter, PTR is not a static but a dynamic parameter. Whenever a teacher is transferred, the student-teacher ratio automatically changes in both the school the teacher leaves and the school where he or she is posted. Therefore, Dr Dwivedi contends, making PTR the final and decisive criterion for granting transfers defeats the very objective it seeks to achieve, as the ratio is bound to change immediately after transfers take place.
Offering what he described as a practical administrative solution, Dr Dwivedi pointed out that nearly 6,500 teachers have applied for transfers, whereas the Uttar Pradesh Government has already announced the recruitment of approximately 60,000 new teachers. He suggested that the government should first accommodate the genuine transfer requests of existing teachers and subsequently utilise the upcoming recruitment drive to fill vacancies strategically across districts, thereby restoring and rationalising PTR wherever required.
“This approach would not only ensure administrative efficiency but would also enable the government to achieve a more scientific and sustainable distribution of teaching staff across the state,” the representation states.
The letter also highlights the contribution of Basic Education teachers in making the state’s enrolment drives successful. Dr Dwivedi noted that under the leadership of the Chief Minister, campaigns such as the School Chalo Abhiyan witnessed remarkable success because teachers personally visited households, motivated parents and ensured that lakhs of children were enrolled in government schools.
However, he described it as an irony that the very success achieved by teachers has now become a reason for denying them transfers. According to the representation, higher enrolment has naturally increased the student-teacher ratio in several schools, and the resulting PTR has become a barrier preventing teachers from being posted closer to their families.
The letter argues that had enrolment remained lower, many of these teachers would have fulfilled the PTR requirement. Instead, because they worked diligently to achieve the government’s enrolment targets, they now find themselves disadvantaged by the same policy.
Dr Dwivedi has also cautioned that continuing with rigid PTR-based restrictions could adversely affect teachers’ morale in future public welfare campaigns. He observed that no educational campaign can succeed merely through government directives; its success ultimately depends upon the commitment, enthusiasm and confidence of teachers. If educators begin to feel that exceptional performance may eventually work against their own legitimate interests, future participation in enrolment and awareness campaigns could be adversely affected.
Apart from administrative issues, the representation places considerable emphasis on the humanitarian dimension of the matter. It states that thousands of teachers in Uttar Pradesh have been serving away from their families for more than a decade. Many children have grown up without the regular presence of either their father or mother, while numerous women teachers have been compelled to shoulder family responsibilities almost as single parents because their spouses are posted in distant districts.
According to Dr Dwivedi, such prolonged separation affects not only family life but also the mental well-being, motivation and professional efficiency of teachers. He emphasised that a motivated and emotionally secure teacher is better equipped to provide quality education and contribute meaningfully to nation-building.
The letter reiterates that teachers are not merely government employees but architects of the nation’s future. Policies governing their service conditions, it says, should therefore balance administrative requirements with compassion and practical realities.
Wing Commander (Retd.) Dr Pushkal Vijay Dwivedi is a former officer of the Indian Air Force and a well-known defence and political analyst. Following his military career, he has remained actively associated with education, public policy and national affairs. He is widely recognised for his work in the field of education and strategic studies and is regarded by his supporters as the pioneer of the discipline of Atmaraksha Vigyan (Self-Defence Science). His organisational contributions have also been recognised by the London Book of Records. As Director General of the Bhartiya Shiksha Anusandhan Parishad (BSAP), he has consistently contributed to discussions on educational reforms, the Indian knowledge system, teachers’ welfare and national education policy.
Concluding his representation, Dr Dwivedi appealed to the Chief Minister to reconsider the PTR restriction in the larger interest of teachers, students and the state’s education system. He maintained that with the recruitment of 60,000 new teachers already planned, the government would be in a much stronger position to rationalise PTR across Uttar Pradesh while simultaneously addressing the long-pending transfer requests of thousands of teachers.
The representation has drawn attention within educational circles, where many view it as a constructive policy suggestion aimed at balancing administrative efficiency with teachers’ welfare. Stakeholders will now be watching closely to see whether the state government revisits the PTR condition in the ongoing transfer policy.
