Madras HC extends interim stay on recruitment of PG teachers

CHENNAI: The Madras High Court extended the interim injunction to the State to not fill up the vacancies of postgraduate teachers/BT assistants in the case seeking to appoint ministerial staff in backlog vacancies.

Justice N Anand Venkatesh heard a batch of petitions moved by the candidates who cleared the Teachers Eligibility Test (TET) exam seeking to direct the State to appoint the ministerial staff in backlog vacancies to the post of postgraduate teachers or BT assistants with 2 per cent reservation.

The commissioner for school education submitted the counter affidavit stating that the number of postgraduate teacher posts for the ministerial staff was earmarked as 130 from the academic year 2014-15 to 2024-25.

The counter affidavit also stated that since the special leave petition related to the TET exam is pending before the Supreme Court and the steps being taken to engage Advocate General to argue the case for the State, the matter was posted to October 10.

In 2007 the State government issued an order regarding teacher recruitment by setting the slab that 50 per cent of the vacancies must be filled through direct recruitment and 48 per cent vacancy should be filled through granting promotion to the BT assistants. The remaining 2 per cent vacancy can be filled by ministerial staff.

However, the school education department is not following the orders while recruiting postgraduate teachers.

On September 29, while hearing the batch of petitions the court issued an injunction on the State not to fill up the vacancies till the disposal of the case.