Coimbatore: Following the state government's inclusion of computer science as a qualification for the post of district educational officer (DEO) in the school education department, graduates with a BEd in Computer Science are now eligible to appear for the upcoming exam.

According to a government gazette released on June 3, computer science has been added to the qualification column for the post of DEO, alongside other subjects.

Graduates with a BEd in Computer Science have welcomed this move, as the government has addressed a long-pending demand of theirs.

M Monisha, a graduate from Coimbatore, told TNIE that only candidates who have qualified in subjects like mathematics, physics, history, commerce and economics, among others, along with the BEd were previously eligible to appear for the DEO exam, a direct recruitment post conducted by the Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission (TNPSC) in the school education department.

"Until last year, the computer science qualification was not included in DEO exam. As a result, graduates and computer science teachers working in schools were unable to take this exam or secure a DEO post through direct recruitment. Now that it has been added, we finally have the opportunity to write the exam for the DEO post," she said.

K Radha, a computer science teacher at a private school in Coimbatore, told TNIE that her current salary makes it difficult to meet her family's expenses. She added that now that computer science has been included as a qualification for the DEO post, she is ready to prepare for the exam.

T Akilan, state president of the Tamil Nadu Computer Science Teachers Rights Association, welcomed the move and told TNIE that since the government has addressed their long-standing demand, thousands of qualified graduates and teachers can write the exam starting this year.