The Odisha High School Teacher Aspirants' Association took to the streets in protest on Monday, voicing their frustration over the inordinate delay in the recruitment process for Language Teacher Recruitment (LTR) posts. The association squarely blamed the Odisha Subordinate Staff Selection Commission (OSSSC) for the holdup, demanding immediate steps to expedite the stalled selection drive.
Protests Over Prolonged Delays and Process Hurdles
The protesting candidates alleged that the recruitment process has been plagued by unnecessary obstacles, creating immense anxiety among thousands of hopefuls. The state government had initially announced this major recruitment drive on October 22 last year to tackle the severe shortage of teachers in high schools across Odisha. The OSSSC was given the responsibility to conduct the selection.
However, the process faced an abrupt halt on October 29, 2024. It eventually resumed in January this year, but with a significant modification: 1,496 posts were converted to TGT Odia, accounting for 25% of the original TGT Arts vacancies.
Examination Timeline and Legal Hurdles
In total, the commission had advertised 6,025 posts across nine different departments. According to the agitating aspirants, the OSSSC had clarified that if the number of applicants was less than five times the number of vacancies, the preliminary examination would be skipped, and the main exam would be held directly.
Following this, the main examinations for TGT Arts and TGT Odia were scheduled for June 23 and June 29, respectively. However, the Odia paper was postponed due to pending litigation. Subsequently, the examinations for Arts and Literature were finally conducted on November 22 and 23.
Key Demands of the Agitating Candidates
The association has presented three primary demands to the concerned authorities to resolve the crisis. They are urging for the immediate release of the revised final answer key and the document verification list. Furthermore, they demand strict action against individuals or entities who have obstructed the recruitment process without valid justification.
Finally, the aspirants have called upon the OSSSC to act more responsibly and accelerate the entire process in strict adherence to judicial directions, ensuring transparency and fairness for all candidates involved.
