Chief Justice Amreshwar Pratap Sahi and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy of the Madras High Court, with respect to the recent appointment of 148 Forest Apprentices without a single Tamil-medium candidate. This was because the Bachelor’s degree in Forestry was being offered in the State only in the English medium.

15

NEWS STATES TAMIL NADU
TAMIL NADU
Some courses available only in English despite PSTM Act
Mohamed Imranullah S.CHENNAI
03 OCTOBER 2020 00:09 IST
UPDATED: 03 OCTOBER 2020 00:09 IST

The law grants preference for Tamil medium candidates for 20% of posts in govt. jobs
It was in 2010 that Tamil Nadu’s State legislature enacted a law to fill at least 20% vacancies in public employment, on a preferential basis, with those who had obtained educational qualifications through Tamil as the medium of instruction. However, even after 10 years, the provision eludes many, as not all courses are offered in the Tamil medium.

A case in point is a recent judgment passed by Chief Justice Amreshwar Pratap Sahi and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy of the Madras High Court, with respect to the recent appointment of 148 Forest Apprentices without a single Tamil-medium candidate. This was because the Bachelor’s degree in Forestry was being offered in the State only in the English medium.

Aspirants who had obtained alternative qualifications, such as a Bachelor’s degree in Botany and Chemistry, through the Tamil medium, had approached the High Court, seeking preference in accordance with provisions of the Tamil Nadu Appointment on Preferential Basis in Services under the State of Persons Studied in Tamil Medium Act (PSTM) of 2010.

Advertising

Advertising
However, the court turned down their plea, citing the Tamil Nadu Forest Subordinate Service Rules, which allow filling up of the post of Forest Apprentice from two different categories of candidates. The first category comprised candidates who possess a Bachelor’s degree in Forestry, and the second category had candidates with alternative qualifications. Only if the number of candidates in the first category was not enough could the posts be filled with those from the second category. As far as the present recruitment process was concerned, a sufficient number of forestry graduates had applied for the 148 vacancies, and hence, there was no question of considering those with alternative qualifications.

Further, agreeing with the State government that the 2010 Act does not provide for “reservation” of 20% vacancies in public employment, but only requires that “preference” be given to Tamil medium candidates in 20% of posts, the judges said the litigants before the court need not be given any preference since they fell under the second category of applicants.

“The preferential rule for PSTM (Persons who had studied in Tamil Medium) candidates could not be given effect to even amongst the first category candidates because unfortunately the course of Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) in Forestry is not taught in the Tamil Medium in any institution,” observed the first Division Bench led by the Chief Justice.

Previous order

In another judgment delivered in June, the same Division Bench had held that a person who had studied in Tamil medium up to the undergraduate level could not claim preference under the PSTM category if the requisite educational qualification for the post was a postgraduate degree or above, that was not offered in Tamil medium at any institution.

That judgment was passed while dismissing a writ appeal preferred by J. Prabhu, an aspirant for the post of Assistant Professor in Chemistry in government arts and science colleges. Though the appellant had done his schooling and undergraduate course in the Tamil medium, he had obtained his M.Phil and Ph.D qualifications through the English medium.

He had contended before the court that he could not pursue higher studies in Tamil medium because those courses were offered only in English medium