23-05-2025
Delay in recognising school correspondent irks teachers
Seven teachers from Kamaraj Middle School at South Kallikulam in the district staged a sit-in protest at District Registrar Office (DRO) in Tirunelveli demanding recognition of their school correspondent as the delay was affecting teachers' salaries and other benefits.
Kamaraj Middle School, a minority government aided institution operating under the Catholic Christian Nadar Mahimai Association, is currently functioning with 250 students and seven teachers.
An election for the association was conducted through a ballot system on October 27, last year, during which retired teacher S. Mariyaraj was elected as the new president, who is also the correspondent of the school. Following that, Mr. Mariyaraj submitted a formal application for registration under Form 7 at the DRO office on November 20, 2024.
Although the DRO accepted the application, the registration process has been delayed for over six months. Due to this delay, the appointment letter for the school correspondent, issued by the District Educational Officer has not been processed. As a result, Mr. Mariyaraj has been unable to sign off on teachers' salaries and other financial matters.
Leons Lettiezia Thangam, Head Mistress of the school, said that she has been working in the school for the past 30 years and this was the first time where official matters have affected the salaries of the teachers.
'Apart from salary issues we are unable to obtain an annual genuinity certificate. I am set to retire on June 30. While the retiring procedures for staff from other schools have been completed, mine has not even begun,' she added.
The teachers along with their families are urging the government to take necessary steps to resolve the issue, as the delay could impact the reputation of the school.
