Chennai: V The Leaders president Annamalai has called on the Tamil Nadu government to ensure that policemen educated in Tamil medium receive the PSTM (Persons Studied in Tamil Medium) priority in Sub-Inspector (SI) recruitment conducted by the Tamil Nadu Uniformed Services Recruitment Board (TNUSRB).
In a statement, he recalled that the state enacted a 2010 law providing 20% priority in government jobs for candidates who studied in Tamil medium. He said this benefit is available even to government employees applying through TNPSC for higher posts such as Group-I.
However, he alleged that the same priority is not being extended in TNUSRB SI recruitment when candidates compete under the 20% departmental quota meant for constables with at least five years of service. He said SI recruitment is treated as direct recruitment, and denying PSTM to Tamil-medium policemen under the departmental quota creates a contradiction.
Citing TNUSRB Notification No. 01/2025 for 1,352 SI posts, Annamalai said PSTM priority was not granted to serving policemen competing under the departmental quota on the grounds that they are already government employees. He argued that the PSTM law does not state that government employees should be excluded.
He noted that the state had introduced an amendment bill—Tamil Nadu Bill No. 4 of 2026—on January 23 to clarify that Tamil-medium educated government employees should also receive PSTM priority in direct recruitment for higher pay posts, and that the benefit could be used again for higher pay posts. As the bill has not yet become law, he said affected policemen have moved the Madras High Court, where the case is pending and the next hearing is scheduled for August 28. He urged the government to take an immediate decision on the bill and ensure the rightful benefit for Tamil-medium policemen.
