HC asks striking TN govt school teachers to return to work

The Madras High Court Wednesday directed the Tamil Nadu government school teachers, on an indefinite strike since Tuesday, to return to work considering the interest of the students.

A division bench comprising justices M Sathyanarayanan and P Rajamanickam gave the interim direction on a petition by a class XII student opposing the strike.

It directed the teachers to join duty not later than January 25 and adjourned the matter to February 18.

The members of the Joint Action Council of Teachers Organisations- Government Employees Organisations (JACTO-GEO) have been on the strike since Tuesday, pressing their nine-point charter of demands, including reverting to the old pension scheme and seeking salary arrears.

Earlier on January 21, a single judge bench of the court had refused to entertain the petition.

The petitioner contended that the strike by the teachers associations would result in him being insufficiently equipped to compete on an equal footing during the application process for undergraduate courses as the class XII board exams and results would be delayed.