Karnataka’s School Education Department has drafted a new teacher-transfer policy for Karnataka Public Schools (KPS), treating teaching and non-teaching positions in these schools as “critical” posts that must be filled before other transfer requests are considered.
The draft, titled the Karnataka State Civil Services (Regulation of Transfer of Teachers) (Amendment) Rules, 2026, proposes changes to the 2020 transfer rules. Under the draft, when transfers are undertaken in an educational taluk, critical vacancies would have to be filled first. Only after that would transfers to other vacant schools and inter-taluk transfers be permitted.
Teachers transferred to critical schools would be required to complete a minimum service period of nine years, according to the report. The draft also proposes that the usual limits on transfer applications would not apply to transfers made to fill critical vacancies. These limits include 7% for request transfers within a district, 4% for zonal transfers, and 2% each for request transfers within a division and outside a division.
Deputy directors of public instruction in the respective districts would be authorised to permit transfers until vacant positions are filled. The proposed system would also calculate transfer eligibility using a new points formula based on the number of years a teacher has served in different zones. Separate points would be assigned for service in C, B and A zones.
The draft makes software-based counselling mandatory. Competent authorities would have to conduct the counselling process through the department’s software, following cadre-wise priority lists. Teachers posted to Karnataka Public Schools would receive additional grace points under the proposed policy.
The department has said that the policy is intended to reduce teacher shortages in Karnataka Public Schools. Requiring teachers to remain in a school for a longer period is also expected to support continuity for students, particularly where frequent staff movement affects classroom planning and learning.
The draft includes specific provisions for women teachers. Pregnant teachers and women teachers with children below five years would receive first priority in transfers. Teachers returning to duty after maternity leave would be allowed to work for five years at schools of their choice, subject to the provisions of the policy. In years when a transfer notification is issued, eligible teachers would be able to select preferred locations from the vacancies available at that time.
Teachers suffering from life-threatening or serious illnesses, as well as those seeking transfers to locations where treatment is available for their spouse or children, would have to submit medical certificates under Health Department guidelines. Teachers with serious illnesses or disabilities exceeding 40% would need to submit certification from a district medical board. Their requests would also be subject to review by a divisional special committee.
The proposed rules therefore link teacher movement to the department’s effort to staff Karnataka Public Schools first, while retaining separate priority provisions for health, disability, pregnancy and childcare. The draft policy will determine how vacancies, service duration, counselling and exemptions are handled when the department issues transfer notifications under the amended rules.
