Terminated within days of joining duty

Khammam: The education department terminated the services of six Hindi pundits and one school assistant Hindi teacher in the district, stating that they are found ineligible for the posts, according to District Education officer E Somashekara Sarma. They received appointment letters only 22 days ago. The Regional Joint Director (RJD) also suspended the verification officers connected with the incident.

A Hindi pandit, Shaik Nagul Meera, who was terminated, said he reported to his duties on October 16 with a lot of hopes for the future but was removed from services on November 7 without a proper reason. He said he had requisite qualification, but the DEO did not accept it. The teacher said he did Hindi Bhushan and Vidwan courses along with a regular degree. For grade-II language pandit posts the qualification mentioned in the DSC notification was graduation along with Hindi language proficiency certificate. In other states, the degrees are being accepted but here the government is not accepting, he said.

How could the education department terminate the services after giving the appointment letters following the verification of certificates, he asked.

Another teacher M Venkata Ratnam said that she obtained Hindi Pravina certificate from Dakshina Bharat Hindi Prachar Sabha, Madras. The certificate is equal to graduation and is approved by University Grants Commission, she said and urged the government to do justice to her.

TSTTF teachers Union founder President Islavath Laxman Naik demanded justice for the terminated candidates. He demanded an inquiry into this issue. He questioned if they were ineligible under the GO No 25, why were their applications accepted and verified and appointment letters given?