Marks Changed After Interview: Guest Lecturers Flag Recruitment Anomalies in Tamil Nadu
The Tamil Nadu All Government College UGC Qualified Guest Lecturers’ Association has raised concerns over discrepancies in the recruitment process for Assistant Professors in state-run and aided arts and science colleges.
According to the association, the marks awarded for teaching experience to two candidates in the provisional selection list differed from those in the mark list released earlier. The provisional list was published after certificate verification and interview, while the initial mark list was released after the written exam.
V. Thangaraj, State President of the association, stated that the anomalies were observed in the Marine Biology and Wildlife Biology departments. In the case of M. Ashokkumar, the mark list dated February 25 awarded zero marks for experience, but the provisional selection list on March 12 showed 15 marks for experience. Similarly, M. Santhanakrishnan received 11 marks for experience in the mark list but was given 13 marks in the provisional list.
The Teachers’ Recruitment Board (TRB) conducted the examination for 2,708 Assistant Professor posts across 48 subjects on December 27, 2025. A total of 42,064 candidates appeared. For five subjects—History Education, Culture and Tourism, Human Rights, Marine Biology, and Wildlife Biology—candidates were called for certificate verification and interview on March 11 and 12, with appointment letters issued on March 13.
Mr. Thangaraj also pointed out irregularities in the evaluation for the remaining 43 subjects, where the mark list was released on June 25. He noted a candidate who scored 49 out of 50 in Paper II (descriptive) but only 54 out of 150 in Paper I Part B (multiple choice). Another candidate scored zero in the descriptive paper while securing 111 in the MCQ section.
“There is a need for transparency in the evaluation of exam papers,” Mr. Thangaraj said. He suggested that doing away with the interview and making the written exam the final selection point would improve the recruitment system.
