MADURAI: Nearly 8,000 teachers working in government and government-aided colleges have been struggling to receive promotion under the Career Advancement Scheme (CAS) for the past ten years. Around 14,000 teachers are working in total 312 government and government-aided arts and science colleges in the State, said Tamil Nadu Government College Teachers Association (TNGCTA) Joint Secretary S Suresh.
"The State government has to pass a G.O. on CAS promotions following the release of University Grants Commission (UGC) regulations. However, the government did not pass G.O. following release of sixth and seventh (2018) UGC regulations. Finally, a G.O. was passed on January 11, 2021, but CAS promotion still remains pending," Suresh said.
He further said, of the 8,000 hapless teachers, at least 50 per cent have two CAS promotions pending. Though they are eligible to work as professors, they still are designated assistant professors.
Speaking to TNIE, Association of University Teachers (AUT) President P Thirunavukkarasu said though several representations were made regarding this, the officials have been apathetic towards our plight. "Teachers in universities and technical institutes are receiving CAS promotions on time. Only in our case, this injustice continues," he added and urged the Chief Minister and Minister for Higher Education to intervene in the issue urgently.
Requesting anonymity, an official from the Higher Education Department said though the previous government had passed a G.O., it lacks clarity. Hence, the government will issue a fresh G.O and approve promotions, he added.