Madurai: Over 66,000 qualified secondary teachers in Tamil Nadu have been waiting for appointments for the past 12 years despite clearing the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET).

Frustration is mounting as the education department delays releasing the results of a crucial recruitment test conducted in July 2024.

TET is mandatory for appointing secondary and graduate teachers in government-aided schools. Since its introduction, the exam has been held six times, with 68,756 candidates passing.

In July 2024, a recruitment test was conducted for 2,768 vacant secondary teacher posts in primary schools, with 25,391 candidates appearing. However, the results are yet to be published.

Despite an estimated 10,000 vacant secondary teacher posts, recruitment efforts are limited to filling just 2,768 positions, prompting strong demands to increase the number of appointments.

The Tamil Nadu Secondary Teachers Recruitment Test Candidates Organization pointed out that the state has 31,214 government primary and secondary schools with over 35 lakh students. Post-pandemic, government school enrollments have surged by five lakh, including 2.8 lakh new admissions in classes 1 to 5.

However, no secondary teacher appointments have been made since 2013, leaving an estimated 25,000 vacancies unfilled.

Candidates question why, despite 66,000 qualified teachers waiting for jobs, 5,900 secondary and 7,000 graduate teachers have been appointed on a contract basis. They demand a transparent declaration of vacancies and the immediate release of recruitment results.

They urge the government to issue a white paper on teacher vacancies and announce the results of the 2024 recruitment test without further delay.