A total of 476 teachers vacancies in schools run by Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare (ADTW) Department across Tamil Nadu are to be filled up on a war footing on a temporary basis on consolidated pay, according to a government order (GO) issued by the department last week.
The vacancies will be filled at the district-level by a three-member committee, involving the District Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare Officer, a representative from School Education Department, and a Headmaster from one of the ADTW schools. The selection procedure would involve a written test, an interview and teaching demonstration in a classroom.
The total vacancies include 175 Secondary Grade teachers, 193 B.T. Assistants, and 108 Post Graduate Assistants, who will be recruited for a monthly salary of ₹8,000, ₹9,000 and ₹10,000 respectively.
The GO said that priority must be given to eligible Scheduled Caste (SC) or Scheduled Tribe (ST) candidates belonging to the village where the particular school having vacancy is located. The teachers, who will be recruited as per the Tamil Nadu Government Servants (Conditions of Services) Act of 2016, cannot claim permanent employment or remuneration on a par with government employees, the GO said.
Opposition
The GO has, however, attracted opposition from section of activists. S. Karuppiah, State general secretary, Dalit Liberation Movement - TN, questioned the rationale behind recruiting teachers on a temporary basis through a separate selection process when thousands of candidates, who have cleared Teachers Eligibility Test (TET) were awaiting jobs. Stating that such a process will only pave way for corruption and other irregularities in the recruitment, he urged the ADTW department to give up this recruitment process.
“If the government is recruiting teachers on a paltry salary of ₹ 8,000 to ₹ 9,000 on a temporary basis, what quality can be expected in the ADTW schools that are already in a bad shape,” he asked.
