There is resentment among government degree college teaching faculty in Karnataka over transfers under the ‘serious ailments’ category.
They claim that while faculty members with serious ailments have failed to make the cut, many seniors, who have cited orthopaedic problems and conditions like diabetes and blood pressure, have made it to the eligibility list for the annual transfer of government degree college teaching faculty in Karnataka.
Compulsory transfer of degree college teaching staff is in progress in Karnataka. This year, the department is planning to transfer 15% of teaching staff, of which 1% will be those suffering serious ailments, as per norms. Given that the number of transfers under this category is limited, competition for the same is high.
Those seeking transfer under the serious ailments category have to get a certificate from the district medical board where they are posted. The medical board has to certify that they are suffering from a serious ailment for which treatment is not available in the district.
Ranjani K. (name changed), a cancer survivor, is posted as a degree college teaching faculty in one of the districts in north Karnataka. She is undergoing treatment in a hospital in Bengaluru. Add to it, the trauma of living alone, away from her family. She has been trying to get a transfer to either Bengaluru, or one of the surrounding districts, for three years.
Similar is the case of another faculty who has undergone cardiac bypass surgery, and has been waiting for at least two years to get a transfer under the ‘serious ailments’ category.
However, the department gets a barrage of such requests, and, officials claim that many of them lack valid reasons. Hence, officials re-verify the medical certificates in Bengaluru. A majority of such certificates are usually rejected at this stage. Yet, this year’s eligibility list has 19 cases that were rejected during the re-verification stage in 2022.
A faculty member alleges ‘widespread malpractice and exploitation of certain loopholes in the law’.
Lack of a narrow definition of ‘serious ailments’
Junior faculty members suffering from serious ailments, but unable to get through, point to systemic issues in the process. Firstly, serious ailments haven’t been properly defined in the norms governing these transfers.
In rules governing the transfer of pre-university teaching faculty, serious ailments have been defined as one of the five life-threatening diseases — cancer, cardiac, brain, kidney-related ailments and HIV/AIDS.
“Such a clear definition of serious ailments would disqualify a majority of those who made it to the eligibility list this year,” a faculty member claims.
Seniority the sole criteria for drawing up eligibility list for transfer
Notably, the severity of the disease is not the prime a criteria for the transfer. Once a faculty gets a medical certificate that he/she suffers from a ‘serious ailment’, the only criteria for drawing up the transfer eligibility list is seniority, which is based on date of joining service.
A faculty member says, “We agree that severity of the disease is subjective, and it can also be misused. But when the number of transfers is limited, the government cannot completely disregard severity of the health condition, and make the process completely mechanical, removing all discretion. Younger faculty suffering from serious ailments are made to suffer further. Under the present system, it takes almost a decade for a younger faculty member suffering from a serious ailment to get a transfer. By then, it may be too late.”
Pradeep P., Commissioner, Department of Higher Education, said, “Considering seniority as a criteria for transfer is a policy matter. The bureaucracy cannot do anything.” He defended the transfer process saying that the medical examination during the re-verification process is conducted under the supervision of the Commissioner, Health and Family Welfare Department, and Director of Medical Education Department.
