There is some good news for teacher aspirants from Tamil Nadu. In view of the COVID-19 pandemic, the state's School Education Department has increased the age limit for teachers' recruitment by five years. “The age limit for teachers has been increased from 40 years to 45 years for general category and from 45 years to 50 years for reserved category. The order will be applicable for postgraduate teachers’ recruitment as well,” an order issued by School Education Secretary Kakarla Usha on Monday said. The decision is believed to be taken after a group of teacher aspirants had submitted a petition to the government, stating that they hadn't been able to appear for the exam for the past two years.
Though the recruitment exams have been delayed and held, a large number of the teacher aspirants had been unable to take the exams as their centres were far away and the admit cards did not appear on time. Add to this the fact that many of them did not do well owing to the stress prevailing during the pandemic and the decision taken by the government makes a lot of sense.
The Tamil Nadu Teachers' Association welcomed the move and lauded the government in a statement. "We have been constantly insisting on raising the working age of teachers. We would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to the Chief Minister for accepting our request and raising the age limit from 40 to 45 for the general category and from 45 to 50 for the reserved category," said its chief PK Ilamaran. He added, "It is doubly gratifying to announce that this move is also applicable for the examination of postgraduate teachers."
