LAHORE: The Punjab Schools Education Department on Tuesday issued a notification for lifting a ban on transfers and postings of schoolteachers from Nov 1 to 21.

After a two-year gap, the previous government of Shahbaz Sharif had lifted the ban on transfers/postings in the department from April 1 to May 31 this year under the transfer policy of 2013.

Later, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had ordered the department to withdraw transfer and posting orders issued after May 12 because of undergoing training programmes and preparations forthe generalelection.

The schools education department had assured the schoolteachers of resuming transfers after the completion of the elections, but the caretaker government had left it for the new setup to decide.

The department sent a sum-mary to the government to process the 81,000 applications received for transfers/postings.

The government had allowed processing of the applications and continuing of the transfers/ postings till Nov 21.

Schools Education Minister Dr Murad Raas tweeted: `The Ban on Teachers Transfer will be lifted on November 1st till November 21st 2018. Hopefully this will create relief for the teachers thathave been asking for it. I want to thank the teachers for their patience.

Anyone asks for monetary corruption, please report to my office.

Punjab Teachers Union (PTU) General Secretary Rana Liaquat welcomed the government`s lifting of the ban on transfers and postings of teachers. He said that those teachers who did not submit transfer applications should be allowed to file them after completion of their academic year.

SMOG ADVISORY: The Punjab School Education Department (SED) on Tuesdaydirected chief executive ofEcers of district education authorities (DEAs) of the province to take preventive measures during smog.

A letter written to CE Os says: `It may be disseminated to all heads of schools for conduct of awareness sessions on smog, including drinking of plenty of water (8-10 glasses per day), reduction in outdoor activities, closure of windows and doors, use of masks/handkerchiefs by all students particularly those using bicycles and motorcycles.

The instruction further includes no use offans in classrooms and in houses, no burning of waste material, use of glasses during journey, frequent washing of hands, face, nose and eyes, no rubbing of eyes, avoid drinking cold water/ cold drinks, use of wet cloth for dusting instead of broom, sprinkling of water in dusty area/ ground, consulting doctor in case of redness of eyes and awareness regarding car pooling.