Controversy surrounds irregular promotions of junior college principals

Tirupati: A major controversy has erupted in State's education sector following the irregular promotion of 197 junior lecturers to the position of Principals in government junior colleges. The previous YSRCP government issued these promotions just one day before the election code of conduct came into force, raising serious concerns about the legality and fairness of the decision.

The promotions were made without adhering to established guidelines or rules, including the crucial criteria of seniority. This has led to widespread discontent among senior lecturers, who were overlooked in the process. As the government had gone into caretaker mode with election code of conduct in vogue by that time, many of these senior lecturers challenged the promotions in the High Court, arguing that their seniority was disregarded and that promotions were not based on merit or transparency.

The High Court, upon reviewing the case, set aside the promotion orders, deeming them invalid. As the government could not act on this during election period, High Court orders were not implemented till now. Now, the demand for implementation of High Court ruling has intensified from the government junior lecturers association (GJLA). The association leaders have already met higher officials in the government and Education Minister Nara Lokesh as well and sought them to implement the court’s orders without delay. The association is calling for the immediate recall of the Principals, who were promoted by the previous government under questionable circumstances.

In addition to seeking reversal of the controversial promotions, the association is advocating for the establishment of a departmental promotions committee (DPC) to oversee a fresh round of promotions. They argue that this new process must be based on seniority and follow all necessary guidelines to ensure fairness and transparency.

Meanwhile, a complaint was also lodged with CBCID to find out what happened behind the irregular promotion of 197 lecturers. The seniors want the investigating agency to identify what led the previous government to make such a grave mistake ignoring all norms and procedures. It was learnt that CBCID was also under investigation and trying to know why the earlier GOs in the promotions were violated deliberately.