HC applies brake on appointment of teachers in Tamil Nadu

Taking note of Tamil Nadu government's submission that suprlus teachers in schools run and aided by it cost the exchequer Rs.444 crore annually, the Madras High Court bench here Thursday ordered a freeze on fresh appointments. A bench comprising Justices N Kirubakaran and S S Sundar also directed aided schools to implement bio-metric attendance for students as well as teachers to ensure there was no likelihood of boosting the students' strength.

The judges directed that the government should not approve any appointment in the private aided schools until the surplus teachers under the same management were exhausted. They, however, made it clear there was no prohibition for approval of teachers in cases where orders had been obtained from the court.

Wherever there was no dispute with regard to the existence of surplus teachers, it was open to the management to deploy them in other aided schools. The court was hearing an appeal by the state government against the order of a single judge bench directing it to grant approval for the appointment of a secondary school teacher in RC Diocese run school.

The government opposed the appointment of the teacher on the ground that the management had 116 surplus teachers in Tuticorin zone. The number of surplus teachers in government schools was 1,079 and in aided schools 5,200, the government said adding it was spending Rs.444 crore annually on them.