MADURAI: With the Teachers Recruitment Board (TRB) not conducting the Post Graduate-TRB Examination for the past two years, thousands of teacher aspirants continue to remain in a fix and their dreams in uncertainty. Though the TRB had released an annual planner for the past two years, it did not conduct the examination leaving the aspirants in limbo.
Speaking to TNIE, P Bala (35), an aspirant (M.Sc and B.Ed holder) who currently works as a private school teacher, said the TRB had last called for filling up PG teachers' vacancies during the AIADMK rule in 2021, and after a long wait for 10 months, the DMK government conducted the examination in February 2022.
"I cleared the examination and went for certificate verification, but missed the opportunity due to a few marks' difference. At present, I am preparing for the PG-TRB exam again, however, no announcement has yet been made regarding the exam," she said, while pointing out that the TNPSC examination was conducted five times in the last two years.
Another aspirant, Bhargavi, an M.Com and B.Ed holder, said that she was unable to clear the exam the previous time, owing to a difference of two marks, but continues ahead with the preparation, even while working in a private school.
"In a recent press meet, Minister for School Education Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi had cited the financial situation of the government for not conducting the exam. While over 1,000 teacher vacancies are yet to be filled, the TRB's annual planner only mentioned 200 vacant posts," he said, urging the chief minister to intervene and take appropriate steps to fill the vacancies.
"When J Jayalalithaa was the chief minister, she had appointed teachers for consolidated salaries for five years. Can the state government apply the same formula for filling PG teachers vacancies?," he asked.
When contacted, Tamil Nadu Post Graduate Teachers Association District President P Pandi told TNIE that a total of 4,000 PG teachers vacancies lie unfilled across the state."Out of 4,000 vacancies, 80% vacancies are in the northern districts of the state, and 60% vacancies are in the Kallar Reclamation schools," he said, adding that few district chief educational officers had made efforts to appoint teachers with a consolidated salary of Rs 18,000.
Stating that the non-filling of the vacancies of PG teacher posts hinders the quality of higher education, Pandi urged the authorities concerned to realise the ground realities and take measures to fill the vacancies soon.