MADURAI: For the third consecutive day, teaching fellows working at Anna University’s regional centres staged a sit-in protest inside the Madurai campus on Thursday, demanding immediate reinstatement and regularisation of their services by the Tamil Nadu government.

The teaching fellows said they were abruptly denied work after December without prior intimation.

Speaking to TNIE on condition of anonymity, one of the protesting teaching fellows said they have been working for over 10 years on a consolidated monthly salary ranging between Rs 27,000 and Rs 30,000.

“The Madras HC recently directed the state government to regularise services on par with assistant professors.

However, despite the court order, the Anna University administration has not extended our employment,” the fellow said.

In total, 328 teaching fellows working at Anna University’s regional centres in Madurai, Tirunelveli and Coimbatore, along with 13 constituent colleges, continued their protest.

Meanwhile, Makkal Kalvi Kootiyakkam coordinator Prof R Murali condemned the state government’s decision not to extend services of teaching fellows. “This is akin to mercy killing,” he said.

He urged Chief Minister MK Stalin to immediately reinstate teaching fellows and halt recruitment of teaching staff on an hourly basis.

Responding to the issue, a senior Anna University official said that the matter was purely a decision of the state government.