S. Karmegam, the District Collector of Salem, has been appointed as the director of the College Education Directorate. He will hold the position for “a period of one year with effect from the date of appointment or till the need for it ceases”, according to the order issued on Saturday by the Higher Education Department, which was made public on Monday.
G. Geetha was appointed the director in April 2023. She was then Principal of Thiru Vi. Ka. Government Arts College in Thiruvarur. She had approached the court with a complaint that she was overlooked and a person junior to her in service was elevated to the post of DCE in 2019.
Usually, the post of director is through selection from among a panel of 10 most senior teachers serving as Principal in Grade I government arts and science colleges. Ms. Geetha had challenged the appointment of her predecessor C. Poornachandran, who, she said, was junior to her.
Some government college teachers have, however, welcomed the appointment of a bureaucrat to the post. A principal said there were allegations of misuse of official position by several Regional Joint Directors. There are eight RJDs who are responsible for the various arts and science colleges in the State.
“Having a bureaucrat in the post at this juncture would help. We would like the Teachers Recruitment Board to conduct exams for recruitment of teachers,” said T. Veeramani, former president of the Tamil Nadu Government College Teachers Association.
He recalled that in 2016, when Sunil Paliwal was the higher education secretary, Rajendra Ratnoo, an IAS officer, had been made the DCE. He held the post for several months before a professor was made the DCE. Members of the TNGCTA said they had been assured that the appointment of a bureaucrat was only temporary, and that the department would revert to giving the post of DCE to teachers.
