CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has ordered the Tamil Nadu government to absorb the assistant professors appointed by the Periyar University for the constituent colleges into the collegiate education department.
The order was passed by Justice N Anand Venkatesh recently while allowing a batch of petitions filed by the teaching faculty concerned, whose fates were hanging in balance as the university refused to take them back into its fold while the state was unwilling to absorb them after the colleges were converted into government colleges in 2019.
When the Teachers Recruitment Board issued a notification for appointment of teaching faculty, including the posts occupied by these assistant professors, who were on deputation, they approached the court. As many as 63 assistant professors are currently under deputation in the converted colleges.
Advocate M Santhanaraman, appearing for some of the petitioners, contended that there was no necessity to include the posts of the petitioners in the vacancy list when they were appointed after being subjected to the rigors of the selection process for the regular posts and had been paid the UGC scale of pay.
The judge commented that there is “absolutely no reason” as to why the petitioners and similarly placed persons must be dislodged from the respective colleges. He noted that the “government is expected to be a model employer.”
The judge directed the respondent authorities not to include the posts held by these assistant professors in the total vacancies mentioned in the March 14, 2024 notification.
“The selection can go on for the remaining vacant posts. There shall also be a consequential direction to the respondents to absorb the petitioners into the collegiate educational services for government arts and science colleges and extend all the attendant service and monetary benefits on par with other teaching staff working in such colleges,” he said in the order.
HC moved after notification
When the Teachers Recruitment Board issued a notification for appointment of teaching faculty, including posts occupied by these assistant professors, they approached the court. As many as 63 assistant professors are currently under deputation in the converted colleges