MADURAI: Even after qualifying the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET), thousands of people with diplomas in elementary education (D Ed) have been waiting for over a decade for a government job.
Not one of the thousands of primary school teacher vacancies across the State were filled since 2013.
While teachers' associations claimed the state government needs to recruit 12,000 more teachers across the primary schools, prominent sources from the Directorate of Elementary Education said nearly 6,000 posts across the state are lying vacant.
On November 15, 2011, the state made the TET qualification mandatory, besides the D Ed prerequisite, for working as a primary teacher in government and government-aided schools.
Speaking to TNIE, A Aadhilakshmi, who qualified TET in 2012, said with no recruitment made by the government, she was forced to work at a private school for a paltry pay of Rs 5,000 a month.
"Like me, several thousands who qualified TET face challenges in leading their lives, many of whom have crossed the age of 45, with their hopes of securing a government job diminishing day by day," she said, adding that the government made an announcement in 2023 to fill 6,555 vacancies, which was scaled down to 2,768 in 2024.
She claimed that the State conducted another test on July 21, 2024, to further filter the candidates, but none of the 24,700 people who cleared the test have been recruited so far.
She appealed to the chief minister to look into the issue and take steps to fill the vacancies soon.
Tamil Nadu Primary Teachers Association district secretary P Srinivasan told TNIE that the association submitted multiple petitions in this regard to the government.
At present, the state needs to recruit more than 12,000 teachers in primary schools across the state, he said.
"The directorate of elementary education manages the vacancies by appointing those who qualified TET in temporary positions for consolidated salaries ranging between Rs 5,000 and Rs 7,000 a month, except for May. The pay does not even meet the requirements of the Minimum Wages (Tamil Nadu) Rules. Equal work, paltry pay -- it is against social justice," he said, urging the government to fill the vacancies without delay.
A senior official from the directorate of elementary education said that a total of around 6,000 posts lie vacant, which have been managed by appointing temporary teachers either through the School Management Committee (SMC) or the Parent-Teacher Association.
"Moreover, compared to the teacher-student ratio of 1:30, there are not enough students across government primary schools, which is also the reason for not filling the vacancies permanently. Nearly 2,500 vacancies will be filled soon. The Teachers Recruitment Board will initiate the certificate verification and process soon," added the official.