Calcutta: The Bengal government will amend transfer rules to ensure school and college teachers, particularly women, are posted in districts where their spouses work, education minister Partha Chatterjee said at a Teachers' Day programme on Wednesday.

If there is no vacancy in the district to which such a transfer is sought, the teacher will be posted in an adjacent district, Chatterjee said.

"The government has decided to bring in certain changes in the existing transfer rules to make it easier to offer posting to teachers in institutions located in areas close to the places where their spouse live. How can teachers concentrate on teaching if they have to spend most of the time of the day commuting?" Chatterjee said.

According to the minister, "certain procedural problems" came in the way of clearing such transfers. "The amendment aims to remove these lapses."

Teachers staying far from their families tend to take frequent leave to be with their families, affecting the academic activities of their institutions, a senior official said.

Chatterjee cited an example. "It is not possible for someone in Jhargram to travel to Kalyani (220km away) every day to attend school or college. The teacher will spend the whole day travelling and have no time to improve the teaching and the learning process in the institution," he said.

The minister handed out Siksha Ratna awards to 60 teachers of universities, colleges and schools at the Teachers' Day event.