In Indian State of Hyderabad, Faculty Ask Court to Force Colleges to Recognize PT Teaching Experience When Hiring for FT Positions

Stating that it would soon decide whether the experience of a part-time lecturer would count for the purpose of filling principal posts at Gurukul residential schools and colleges in the state, the high court on Monday concluded its hearing in the matter and reserved its judgment.

A bench of Chief Justice Hima Kohli and Justice B Vijaysen Reddy said this after hearing a batch of petitions filed by part-time lecturers Yerra Sarita and others, who filed an appeal against the order of a single judge.

The single judge had earlier refused to take into consideration the service they rendered as part-time lecturers in the same Gurukul institutions. TSPSC had laid down an eligibility criterion saying that candidates must possess, in addition to the required academic qualifications, five-year experience as a junior lecturer, but refused to count the part-time service and rejected their applications.

The aggrieved part-timers approached the high court and suffered a set back before the single judge. They preferred an appeal before a division bench. The CJ bench said it would examine the contentions and pronounce its orders soon.

The counsel for the part-timers argued that though they were called as part-timers, but the authorities were making them work full time on par with regular lecturers. They also have the same kind of academic qualifications on a par with regular ones, he said. Some part-timers had acquired the requisite academic qualifications during their service. The counsel contended that now by the time regular recruitment was taking place, they stand as equals in all respects, he said.