Chennai: The first 'sensitive' assignment for CM O. Panneerselvam might be the appointment of hundreds of government schoolteachers through the Teacher Recruitment Board (TRB).
After the high court quashed the government order of granting relaxation in minimum marks for reserved category candidates and the protests against weightage system followed by TRB gaining significance every day, officials on the board are left in a quandary about how to fill vacancies this academic year. The final decision by the chief minister's office will decide how the appointments will be made in future.
Members of the State Platform for Common School System (SPCSS) have asked chief minister Panneerselvam to directly intervene and review the recruitment procedures followed by TRB to avoid further legal battles and delay in appointments.
SPCSS general secretary P.B. Prince Gajendra Babu said a protest is being organised on October 8 seeking the intervention of the chief minister to clear the confusion that prevails over the recruitment. "After the government announced the reservation policy in the Assembly in February 2014, amendments were made in appointment of teachers. But the recent high court judgment quashing the reservation has led to a lot of confusion in appointments. We want the chief minister to directly involve and sort out the issue," he said.
Sources in TRB said they are in a dilemma on how the fill over 1,000 vacancies in schools run by departments like Adi Dravida welfare, tribal welfare and Kallar reclamation and city corporations. "So far, more than 13,000 posts of teachers were filled based on weightage system and 5 per cent reservation was followed in the appointments. We are in a fix after the high court judgment quashed the reservation, and protests raising voices against the weightage method. We are waiting for the chief minister's office to come up with a final decision," sources said.
