The School Education Department of Tamil Nadu has started the process to transfer around 1,300 postgraduate (PG) teachers who were posted as high school headmasters after January 1, 2016. This comes after the high court quashing a clause in the orders of the department which allowed the recruitment of PG teachers as headmasters of government high schools based on their service as BT assistants (graduate) teachers.

The department has written to all chief education officers to collate and send the details of promoted PG teachers who are working as high school headmasters in their districts. It is mulling what similar posts could be given to the headmasters.

Sources said the department was left with no other option as both the Supreme Court and subsequent review petition filed with the Madras High Court held that there are no provisions under the rules to make promoted postgraduate teachers as high school headmasters.

"If a BT assistant has been promoted to PG teacher, his service would come under the higher secondary wing. He can't come back to high school as headmaster. The pay and cadre of high school headmaster and PG teacher are the same," said AV Annamalai, State Special President of the Promoted Bachelor of Teaching and Tamil Teachers Association. Annamalai has filed several cases against the department's decision since 2008.

He added that there are nearly 60,000 BT assistants and 5,800 high schools in the state. "If promoted PG graduates are also posted as high school HMs, this would deny BT assistants their chance for promotions," he said.

The association has also filed a contempt petition in the high court to implement the order. Meanwhile, the high school HMs who would be affected by the order have decided to stage a hunger strike against implementing the order.