The Tamil Nadu Directorate of Elementary Education (DEE) has issued fresh instructions to strengthen the verification of educational certificates submitted by teachers in government and local-body schools.

The directions require education officials to ensure that the qualifications submitted by teachers are genuine and meet the requirements prescribed for their posts.

The move puts greater emphasis on checking certificates and supporting documents submitted by teachers, including their educational qualifications.

Certificate verification is already part of the state's teacher recruitment process. The Teachers Recruitment Board requires candidates selected for teaching posts to produce original educational certificates, with appointments subject to verification of the documents.

The state's Directorate of Government Examinations also provides an online marksheet verification service for educational certificates.

The latest DEE instructions concern teachers working in government and local-body schools, and seek to ensure that records held by the department correspond with genuine educational qualifications.

The move comes as the School Education Department continues to tighten administrative processes involving teachers. Earlier this year, the DEE issued directions to district education officials to ensure that service certificates were issued to in-service teachers applying for the Tamil Nadu Teacher Eligibility Test within the prescribed deadline.