The Chief Minister has ordered immediate filling of all vacancies in the post of principal in 68 government colleges.
According to an official release, of the total 69 government colleges in the State, the principal's office in 48 colleges remained unfilled since June 2010. As on June 1 this year, the post remained vacant in 68 colleges.
After deliberating the issue with top officials of the Education Department on June 17, Chief Minister Jayalalithaa directed the authorities to fix the seniority of Selection Grade Lecturers and Associate Professors so as to fill the vacancies of the principal cadre, it added.
The Madras High Court had directed the government to prepare the inter-se seniority list of Selection Grade Lecturers and Associate Professors for appointment of principals before May 31. Accordingly the list was prepared and posted on the website of the Directorate of Collegiate Education on Friday.
A high-level committee of the Tamil Nadu Government College Teachers Association (TNGCTA) met on Sunday to discuss the list. According to C. Tamizmani, general secretary, TNGCTA,
“The high-level committee has strong reservations about the manner in which the list of inter-se-seniority was prepared. The list incorporates teachers who have served in aided colleges for promotion to the post of principals. This is a gross violation of existing procedures. The association also condemns the secret manner in which appointment orders were issued on Saturday and the respective colleges were asked orally to relieve the appointees immediately.”
Staff Reporter from Coimbatore adds:
Many among the 496 teachers from Government Arts Colleges and B.Ed. Colleges in the State who have made it to the inter-se-seniority list of assistant professors are not a happy lot. They want the seniority to be based on date of appointment /upgradation and not on regularisation based on a government order (No.1840) issued in 1988.
After a long-drawn dispute, which has been going on since late 1980's, over the merit of the list, the inter-se-seniority list was released on June 17. This much awaited list was seen as a means to end the problem of filling principal vacancies in the 62 arts colleges and seven B.Ed. colleges and also the posts of Joint Directors and Regional Joint Directors.
But this too has met with disapproval from the teaching community because of various reasons. They say that the list is “against the interest of teachers and not as per merit”.
They demand that the government review the seniority ranking based on date of appointment/upgradation.
