Stay on govt order to shift surplus teachers between aided schools

CHENNAI: Justice Anand Venkatesh of the Madras High Court had passed a stay on the staff-fixation order passed by the School Education Department to transfer the excess number of teachers from one aided school to another aided school.

The judge passed the orders on hearing a batch of petitions filed by teachers from Maria Auxilium Girls Higher Secondary School, and KK Nirmala Higher Secondary School.

According to the teachers, the government had passed the orders without giving proper notice as per HC’s direction. “The orders were passed before the end of this academic year and therefore it’d disturb students’ education in the aided schools,” they argued. “Orders were passed without getting the nod of the concerned school which is against the rules and regulations.”

The authorities are also compelling the institutions to furnish the details of the surplus staff as per their anomalous fixation, and compel them to attend counselling, and accept the deployment. “They are doing all these at the threat of a stoppage of salary. Having no other option, the teachers, who were indicated as surplus, are attending the counselling in fear of their livelihood,” the petitioners argued.

They further noted that the surplus teachers should not be transferred from one educational institution to another but instead they could do so between schools of the same institution.

Concurring with the arguments of the petitioners’ counsel, the judge passed the stay on the staff-fixation order in aided schools.