What are the qualifications for appointing lecturers in Yoga colleges, asks HC

CHENNAI: The Madras High Court had directed the state government and its health department to file a response so as to know the qualifications for appointing lecturers, academic staff, and others in the Yoga colleges.

“Let these petitions be listed after two weeks, enabling Additional Advocate General J Ravindran (AAG) to bring on record the regulation providing the qualifications for appointment of teachers and other academic staff for various disciplines, including Yoga,” the first bench comprising Chief Justice Munishwar Nath Bhandari and Justice D Bharatha Chakravarthy of Madras HC had passed the direction on hearing a batch of writ petitions filed by several people.

The petitioners sought a direction from the court to quash the Adhoc rules framed by the TN government through a government order on July 27, 2021, making candidates who have completed a UG degree eligible for the posts of lecturers in the Yoga colleges.

“The rules amended through the GO are ultra vires to the directions/guidelines issued by the University Grants Commission in 2018. As per the UGC rules, one should have completed a PG degree for getting appointments for the posts of principal, professor, and assistant professor. With the new Adhoc rules of the state government, candidates who merely possess the Under Graduate (UG) degree had emerged as eligible for the appointments, ” the petitioner submitted.

The petitioners also noted that the Adhoc rules are not just against the UGC rules, but also create inequality in comparison to other appointments in Siddha, Ayurvedha, Unani and Homeopathy government colleges since a PG degree is a must for the promotions.

On recording the submissions, the judges directed the AAG to file a response on June 16.