CHENNAI: A division bench of Madras High Court has expressed shock at over 400 posts of graduate teachers post remaining vacant for ten years in the schools run by the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) and sought an explanation from the Commissioner by July 26.
When an appeal petition filed by a teacher employed with the GCC school came up for hearing before the division bench of Justices R Suresh Kumar and K Kumaresh Babu on Wednesday, the bench specifically asked whether there were any vacancies of BT Assistant posts; the standing counsel for the corporation replied that since 2013, 400 such posts are lying vacant.
“If this is the state of affairs, it is a shocking revelation. If such posts are kept vacant and not filled up despite the availability of eligible candidates, it is a serious lapse on the part of the corporation,” the bench observed.
It further noted that such huge vacancies would ‘certainly impact and hamper’ the studies of students of the corporation schools, and therefore sought an explanation.
The bench said the explanatory affidavit shall furnish details of the number of schools, with a category-wise break-up, and the sanctioned strength of teachers and the vacancies of BT Assistants; and reasons for not filling the vacancies.
The total number of vacancies of BT assistants, along with schools and zones-wise vacancy positions arising from 2013-14 and the vacancies of BT Assistants in Mathematics shall also be filed as a status report by July 26 either by the Commissioner or by the Deputy Commissioner (Education), the bench ordered.
It added, if failed to do so, the two officers shall have to appear before the court.
The writ appeal was filed by K Selvakumar, a secondary grade teacher, who had been fighting for promotion to BT Assistant. He had preferred the appeal saying a single judge had not appreciated the facts of the case while not heeding his prayer.