C. RAJESHWARI Vs. GOVERNMENT OF TAMIL NADU

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE Tamil Nadu Teachers Recruitment Board, Chennai conducted Tamil Nadu Teachers Eligibility Test (TNTET) Exam - 2013 on 18.08.2013. It consists of two papers (Paper - I and Paper - II). The question paper is of objective type. The petitioners herein applied for the same and appeared in the said examination.

(2.) AFTER the examinations were over, the Teachers Recruitment Board issued the tentative key answers through its official website, calling for objections. Admittedly several objections were received from the candidates in respect of certain key answers. The Teachers Recruitment Board, thereafter referred those disputed questions to the experts in the subject by constituting experts board for each subject. The subject experts considered the objections and as a matter of fact agreed with some objections and disagreed with many. Based on the opinion of the experts, the final key answers were published through the official website. The results were published on 05.11.2013.

(3.) BECAUSE of the challenges made before this Court, the Teachers Recruitment Board could not proceed further to go for the process of selection of candidates for appointment. As a result, the process has almost come to a halt. There are Government Schools as well as Private Schools in the state, which are without sufficient number of teachers. As a matter of fact, a writ petition was filed before this Court by students of a school, seeking a mandamus to the educational authorities to appoint a computer science teacher, as in the said school there was no computer science teacher. Similar situation prevails in various schools in the State. The Government is struggling to appoint the teachers. Considering the urgency of the matter, this Court has spent almost number of post lunch sessions in examining the cases continuously without break and finally decided all the matters. The key answer to some questions have been disagreed by the Court and this Court has directed the Teachers Recruitment Board to revalue the answer sheets of all the candidates, who appeared in the examination and this will take atleast one month for the Teachers Recruitment Board to complete the process and then they have to start the process of selection. In these circumstances, this Court is of the view that this Court cannot go on entertaining the writ petitions, challenging the key answers. After publication of the results, sufficient time had been given and a number of days have been spent in examining the challenges made to the key answers to the questions. As I have already pointed out, if any more number of writ petitions are entertained and the challenges are considered, then this will be an endless process and it may get prolonged for few more months. If any more writ petitions are entertained, this will further worsen the situation in the State because the schools will go without adequate number of teachers.