LUCKNOW, June 3 -- The state government has issued guidelines for teacher transfers for the 2026-27 academic session, under the ambit of the Teachers' Transfer/Adjustment Policy, 2017, applicable for government-run secondary schools. Kinjal Singh, secretary, secondary education, issued a notification to this effect. Monday's order regarding this was shared with the media on Tuesday. Preparations are underway to complete the transfer process by June end. A detailed timetable will be released soon. The decision is expected to bring relief to teachers who have been waiting for transfers for long. The policy's primary objective is to ensure the balanced deployment of teachers in government high schools and intermediate colleges in strict adherence to prescribed norms while simultaneously facilitating voluntary transfers. Schools shall be categorised into three zones based on their distance from the district or tehsil headquarters: zone-1 (within the municipal limits of the district or up to 8 km from the district headquarters), zone-2 (up to 2 km from the tehsil headquarters), and zone-3 (all locations other than those specified above). Adjustment and transfer will be based on the teacher-to-student ratio norms stipulated in GO No. 8125/15-8-3086/74, dated November 20, 1976. The transfer process will be executed in three distinct phases. Phase I will involve adjustment of surplus teachers; phase II will facilitate the transfer of teachers belonging to special categories, subject to their request; and phase III will address the transfer requests of all other teachers. To identify surplus teachers, the "Last In, First Out" principle shall be applied. However, teachers belonging to certain special categories shall, as far as practicable, be exempted from this process (e.g., those whose spouses are serving in army or paramilitary forces, those suffering from severe illnesses, teachers over the age of 58, couples where both spouses are in government service within the same district and recipients of national or state awards). A coefficient-based priority system shall be implemented for the adjustment and transfer of surplus teachers, incorporating various other factors such as marital status (widows/divorcees or widowers), gender (female teachers), length of service in zone-3 or zone-2, and age. Priority on request will be accorded to teachers who have completed 58 years of age as of June 30 of the transfer year, to those whose spouses are posted in different districts and to those whose spouses are serving in the army or paramilitary forces. A transfer shall be permissible only if the teaching process within the school can continue to function smoothly following the transfer. In the event of equal merit coefficients, preference shall be given to the older candidate. In the interest of the public and from an administrative perspective, the departmental minister may approve the transfer-upon request-of up to 4% of the teachers within the cadre; furthermore, transfers may be effected for up to 20% of the total cadre strength, a limit which may be further extended by the minister. The online application process shall be completed during June to ensure timely posting of teachers prior to the reopening of schools. No teacher shall be deputed or attached to a location other than their original place of posting, nor shall teachers be deployed in excess of the prescribed student-teacher ratio norms. The department has also asked the state information technology agency to facilitate the entire online process through the human resource management portal. Detailed vacancy lists and further instructions will be made available on the department's official website in due course. The move is expected to bring greater transparency, fairness and efficiency in teacher deployments across the state's government secondary schools....