Scores of aspiring college teachers who had obtained their M Phil degrees through distance education mode have been left in a piquant situation over an eligibility clause notified by the Teachers Recruitment Board (TRB) to fill up 1,093 vacancies of assistant professors. These teachers would be appointed in Government colleges across the State.
The TRB notification issued on May 28 states that all those who had obtained M Phil degree through the distance/correspondence education mode will not be eligible to get any special weightage mark during the selection process.
“This Government Order has been challenged in the court (Premji Vs Government of Tamil Nadu) as it sought to impose a blanket disqualification on all distance mode M Phil/PhD degree holders. The matter is sub-judice. It would be a gross injustice to cite this GO and apply restrictions with retrospective effect for all distance mode M Phil degreeholders,” argues C R Ravi, an associate professor, who has been championing the cause of such candidates.
“The GO can only be applied with prospective effect. This means even candidates who had enrolled for an MPhil degree programme under the distance education mode prior to the issuance of the GO but obtained the degree subsequently must be given additional weightage in the recruitment process,” he insists.
With the colleges all set to issue the applications for the 1,093 posts of assistant professors from June 19 onwards, the candidates say there is an urgent need for the TRB to amend its May 28 notification and permit an additional weightage for M Phil (Distance) degree holders.
Besides a section of the aspirants is also worried over the ambiguity in Clause 4 of the TRB notification over the eligibility of PhD qualified candidates. The clause 4 says that candidates possessing a postgraduate degree with a 55% aggregate score and a PhD in the relevant subject will be awarded nine marks.