APPTA urges Nara Lokesh to protect SC/ST teachers’ rights in district reorganisation

The Andhra Pradesh Primary Teachers’ Association (APPTA) has appealed to the State government to protect the constitutional and service rights of SC and ST teachers during the ongoing district bifurcation, cadre allocation, rationalisation and surplus adjustment in the School Education Department.

In a representation submitted to Human Resources Development Minister Nara Lokesh on Thursday (May 21, 2026), the association’s State president K. Prakash Rao and general secretary M.G. Mahdi urged the government to ensure that reservation roster points, consequential seniority and local cadre rights were not affected during the reorganisation.

They cited Article 16(4A) of the Constitution, which provides for reservation in promotions with consequential seniority for SC/ST employees, along with Articles 14 and 335, which guarantee equality and protection of SC/ST claims in public services. The roster system under G.O. Ms. No. 5 of 2003 and the consequential seniority provisions under G.O. Ms. No. 2 of 2004 must be strictly followed during district allocation and rationalisation, they said.

The association leaders expressed concern that, in some cases, seniority lists were being prepared solely on the basis of merit and marks, ignoring the ‘Merit-cum-Roster’ principle adopted during recruitment. Such a move could push SC/ST teachers to the bottom of seniority lists, disturb reservation roster points and force teachers to move away from their native districts, they said.

Pointing that Sections 77 and 78 of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014, protect employees’ service conditions and local status, they also referred to G.O. Ms. No. 31, issued by the Finance Department in 2022, which says provisional allocation of employees during district restructuring should not affect seniority, promotions and local cadre status.

They sought the government’s immediate intervention to ensure that seniority lists were prepared strictly according to the original Merit-cum-Roster principle, and that no SC/ST teacher was disadvantaged by district bifurcation or surplus adjustment. They also asked it to consider humanitarian grounds such as serious medical conditions and family responsibilities while allocating teachers.

The APPTA warned that ignoring reservation and consequential seniority norms could lead to avoidable litigation and administrative complications.