Transfer Blues

One of the downside of being a civil employee is that you have to work where the government posts you to. Well, fair enough, as the government's task is to improve the quality of life across the nation, not just focussed on the urban areas, but including rural areas as well. Unfortunately, for the individual employee, he/she has no idea how long he/she has to serve in a particular place before being transferred back to a place of his/her choice. Of course, it is stated that a person should serve a minimum of 5 years at the place being posted to, before being eligible for transfer. Even if this criterion is met, the next step would be to see if there is any empty positions to be filled in the place that we are applying for.

I am now in this particular situation. I've been posted to teach in Beruas, a rural area in the state of Perak, Malaysia, and today marks the 8th year of my service in my school. I have applied for transfer twice, but it seems that there are no vacancies in Ipoh, which is where I hope to be transferred to. I've been told that there will be no vacancies for at least 3 years! Apparently, no English teacher is planning to retire anytime soon.

Applications for transfer are open twice a year, once in the middle of the year, and once at the end of the year. Word is that the more times we apply, the higher the chances we get to be transferred. However, for the two times that I have applied, I only did it at the end of the year, because I teach exam classes, and I don't think it's a good idea to leave them suddenly without a teacher halfway through the year, with their exams looming large before them. Getting a substitute teacher might take up to a month, and the students will be on the losing end. I can't bring myself to be this cruel to them! Unfortunately, this means that I only have one chance every year, which does not look very optimistic.

Having taught in the same school for 7 years, I really feel that it's time for me to experience working in another school environment, to meet new kinds of students and to have new challenges. Last week, I got news that there a school in Ipoh was short of English teachers, as one of them had left the school. Despite teaching exam classes this year, I felt that if this golden opportunity passed, there was no knowing when I could finally leave. So, I decided to give it a try. I called the school, but the clerks weren't much of a help. I tried calling the principal the next day, hoping that he might be able to help me transfer to his school. He didn't answer my calls. The following day, I decided it would be much better if I called the State Education Dept, but also, the officer in charge did not pick up the phone! By then, it was the end of the week, so I decided to meet this officer in person, but after driving for one hour and 30 minutes there, I found out that the whole department had gone to Penang for a meeting. What are the odds! Luck was just not on my side.

This morning, a colleague told me that she had heard that I could contact the District Education Office about the transfer, so I called the officer as soon as I finished my lesson. What I got was bad news. The spot had been taken. If I had known earlier that I could have just contacted this officer from my district, I wouldn't have to go through all the trouble calling everyone else. Sigh... maybe it's just not my time yet to leave. In the meantime, I'll just focus on preparing my class for their SPM exam, and doing the duties being asked of me. I'll still keep my fingers -- and toes -- crossed, that someday very soon, I'll get what I wish for.

I'm thankful that throughout this experience, many teachers have shown their support and given me information and advice, without me even asking. And most of them were Malay teachers! This in a country that has seen a lot of racial tension lately, is really something worth looking up to. Amidst my disappointment, I feel reassured that I am not alone in this, and somehow, with our collective positive thoughts, a miracle might just happen.