West Bengal frames teacher transfer policy; will move staff, posts from over 4,000 zero-enrolment schools

West Bengal government has introduced a standard operating procedure (SOP) for handling teacher deployment across the state with the goal of shifting teachers from zero or low-enrolment schools to ones facing shortages. and low Pupil-Teacher Ratio (PTR) schools to schools facing shortages.

According to the UDISE Plus 2025-26 report , West Bengal has 4,133 schools with zero enrolment – the most of any state – and 19,502 teachers deployed across these schools. At the same time, the state has 6,769 single-teacher schools with a collective enrolment of 2,29,569 students, suggesting a very lopsided distribution of teaching staff across schools.

The SOP is aimed at “utilisation of human resources by rationalising the deployment of teaching and non-teaching staff through the transfer of personnel from zero enrolment schools and schools having surplus teaching and non-teaching staff to schools experiencing a shortage of teaching and non-teaching staff as indicated by a high pupil-teacher ratio (PTR).”

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The proposed policy will apply to government-aided and government-sponsored schools under West Bengal’s School Education Department, excluding schools governed by special rules.

West Bengal Schools: District teacher shortage list

Under the SOP, district authorities will first identify schools with zero enrolment, schools with surplus teachers and schools where teacher shortages have resulted in a high PTR. The District Inspector of Schools (Secondary Education) and District Primary School Councils (DPSC) will then publish lists of schools requiring teachers, specifying vacancies and, in the case of secondary schools, subject-wise requirements.

The policy proposes that all teaching and non-teaching staff posted in zero-enrolment schools be considered for transfer. Teachers already working on deployment may also be permanently shifted to their present schools if required under PTR norms. Surplus teachers in other schools will also be identified for redeployment.

In September 2025, West Bengal conducted the School Level Selection Test (SLST) 2025, the first teacher recruitment examination conducted by the West Bengal Central School Service Commission (WBSSC) after the Supreme Court scrapped 26,000 appointments made through the 2016 recruitment process.

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In March 2026, the WBSSC moved ahead with the next stage of the recruitment process under SLST 2025, for assistant teacher posts in Classes 9–10 and 11–12. The recruitment drive was followed by the recruitment for the non-teaching positions. In October 2025.

West Bengal Teacher Transfer: Age factor, 3 options

Where multiple teachers exceed staffing norms, the youngest teacher in terms of biological age will ordinarily be selected first, although senior teachers may volunteer for transfer.

“As there is no specific subject-wise post of teachers in primary schools, for determination of the surplus teachers of a school, teachers younger in biological age shall be considered first,” the document said. In secondary schools, the exercise will also take subject-wise requirements into account. Head teachers in primary schools will not be treated as surplus.

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Teachers identified for transfer will be allowed to indicate three preferred schools from among those facing teacher shortages. However, if they do not submit preferences within the given time frame, or if the schools they pick can’t accommodate them, authorities may post them to any identified school based on administrative requirements. Such allocations will be final.

Teacher Vacancies: Govt to withdraw, transfer posts

The SOP also looks at addressing a longstanding staffing gap in schools upgraded over the past 10 to 15 years. According to the document, many of these institutions continue to operate without sanctioned teaching posts despite requiring teachers in specific subjects.

To bridge this gap, the school education department has proposed transferring sanctioned posts from zero-enrolment or low-enrolment schools to institutions with high pupil-teacher ratios or subject-specific teacher shortages, wherever required.

For secondary schools with no students, the document further proposes withdrawing sanctioned posts at the state level so they can be utilised where demand exists. “In the instance of closure of schools for transferring the teaching and non-teaching staff from zero enrolment schools to any other schools, concerned Sub-Inspector of Schools will take over the charge of those schools as custodian and immediately inform the status of the physical assets to the higher authorities concerned”, the document said.