The Madras HC had directed the state government and the Health department to file a response to know the qualifications for appointing lecturers, academic staff and others in Yoga colleges.

“Let these petitions be listed after two weeks, enabling AAG J Ravindran to bring on record the regulation providing the qualifications for appointment of teachers and other academic staff for various disciplines, including Yoga,” the first bench comprising CJ Munishwar Nath Bhandari and Justice D Bharatha Chakravarthy of HC said on Monday. The first bench had passed the direction on hearing a batch of writ petitions filed by several people.

The petitioners sought a direction from the court to quash the adhoc rules framed by the government through a GO dated July 27, 2021, making candidates who have completed a UG degree eligible for the posts of lecturers in the yoga colleges. “The rules amended through the GO are ultra vires to the directions/ guidelines issued by the UGC in 2018. As per the UGC rules, one should have completed a PG degree for getting appointments for the posts of principal, professor and assistant professor. With the new adhoc rules of the state government, candidates who merely possess the UG degree had emerged as eligible for the appointments,” the petitioner submitted.

The petitioners also noted that the adhoc rules are not just against the UGC rules, but also create inequality in comparison to other appointments in colleges for other traditional medicine since a PG degree is necessary for promotions.

On recording the submissions, the judges directed the AAG to file a response on June 16.