Government primary school teachers in Tamil Nadu will now have State-level seniority, rather than block-level seniority.

The State government has decided to amend the Special Rules for the Tamil Nadu Elementary Education Subordinate Service, according to a G.O. issued by the School Education Department, to make the State the unit of appointment in all categories of teachers. According to the order, the Directorate of Elementary Education was also directed to prepare a State-wide seniority list based on teacher categories and not to revert any incumbent teachers to lower posts.

This comes after the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court directed the State government to reconsider bringing them under the State seniority list or, at the very least, the district seniority list.

The government's decision, which had been a long-standing demand of some teachers, elicited mixed reactions. P. Patrick Raymond, general secretary of the Tamil Nadu Graduate Teachers Federation, welcomed the move and stated that promotions for teachers would be affected if they moved from district to district. "Now, this new amendment would ensure that everyone gets promotions," he went on to say.

Meanwhile, the Tamil Nadu Primary School Teachers’ Federation (TNPSTF) was disheartened to hear the news. “These changes will affect nearly 1 lakh primary school teachers opportunities as this order brings all the teachers under one rule. The rule will only benefit the teachers in high schools and higher secondary schools, not us,” said S. Mayil, general secretary of the federation.