The Tamil Nadu government on Friday, December 3, made it mandatory for all candidates in the state to clear and score a minimum of 40% marks in the Tamil language exam to qualify for state government jobs as a way of giving preference to applicants from the state for these positions. A government order detailing the changes for state competitive exams was passed on Friday evening.
According to the order, all the candidates now writing Group IV and other Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission (TNPSC) must write and also qualify in Tamil paper – which will be of class 10 level – with at least 40 marks out of a total of 150. The Tamil paper has replaced a General English paper in part A of the exam. Further, an exemption given to candidates who do not clear the Tamil exam to clear it within two years of taking up a government post has also been withdrawn.
“Also, it is important to note that if the candidate does not clear the Tamil language paper, answer sheets of other subjects will not be evaluated,” the secretary of Human Resource Management, Mythili K Rajendran, added.
This decision comes after Finance Minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan had said during the Assembly session in September this year that in the view of giving importance to Tamil youngsters, the state government will give 100% preference in government jobs to natives of the state.
“We have previously employed candidates who are not natives of the state. However, currently, we have ensured that Tamils of the state are given preference,” the minister had said.
With the order of mandating Tamil paper in all competitive exams in the state, the government has said that it hopes to ensure that more youth from rural backgrounds who studied in government schools get employed in the jobs here.
The order on Friday also stated that a different a government order will be passed with details for other exams such as Teachers Recruitment Board (TRB), Tamil Nadu Forest Uniformed Services Recruitment Committee, Medical Services Recruitment Board and Tamil Nadu Uniformed Services Recruitment Board, also mandated that candidates score a minimum 40% marks to qualify.