The Tamil Nadu government has issued guidelines for granting a lumpsum amount for its employees who acquire additional educational qualifications while in service. The framing of guidelines is in line with the announcement made by the Chief Minister in the Assembly in 2021.
A Government Order (G.O.) issued in 2021 provides for granting incentive in the form of a one-time lumpsum amount to State government employees for having acquired additional qualifications. The amounts are: ₹25,000 for a doctorate, ₹20,000 for a postgraduate degree or equivalent, and ₹10,000 for a degree/diploma.
The recent order has been issued after it came to the notice of the government that a substantial number of claims from candidates with higher educational qualifications have remained pending. The order is expected to expeditiously process and bring clarity to the scheme.
According to the fresh guidelines, the lumpsum amount will be granted only to those who have acquired higher qualifications and were not sanctioned with advance increments till date. The incentive will not be available for the qualifications, which are laid down as essential or desirable qualifications in the recruitment rules for the post. No incentive will be allowed for acquiring higher qualification purely on academic or literary subjects.
The acquisition of the qualification must be directly related to the functions of the post held by the employee or to the functions to be performed in the next higher post. There must be a direct nexus between the functions of the post and the qualification acquired, and it must contribute to the efficiency of the government servant. The quantum of incentive will be uniform for all posts, irrespective of their classification, grade, or department.
The incentive will not be admissible when the government servant is sponsored by the government or he/she avails study leave for acquiring the qualification. The incentive will be given only for higher qualifications acquired after induction into service. The qualifications must be recognized by the University Grants Commission and respective regulatory bodies like the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), etc.,
The incentive shall be limited to a maximum of two times in an employee’s career, with a minimum gap of two years between successive grants. The government servant must prefer the claim within six months from the date of acquisition of the higher qualification with respect of future claims.
