School, Ancona TAR cancels Pnrr competition in five regions: anonymity rule violated

The TAR of Marche has cancelled the ordinary Pnrr competition for laboratory teachers in secondary schools of first and second level five regions: Abruzzo, Emilia-Romagna, Marche, Puglia and Umbria. The decision was taken following the appeal presented by some candidates of the competition class Laboratories of technologies and techniques of multimedia communications (B022), who took the test in Porto Sant'Elpidio, in the province of Fermo, last May (2024).

The TAR's reasons: violation of anonymity

According to the Administrative Court, the competition will have to be repeated due to the violation of the principle of anonymity. The sentence states that "andsince the practical test consisted of a mere written paper and the competitors had placed their names directly on the sheets containing the paper itself, this constituted an open violation of the anonymity rule, since it was possible to immediately identify the author of the paper during the evaluation phase".

The Administrative Court therefore found a violation of anonymity in the performance of the practical test, this irregularity thus led to the cancellation of the practical test, with the consequent need to repeat it, together with the oral, for all candidates involvedThe Ministry of Education will therefore have to draw up a new ranking with effect from the school year following the current one.

The position of the Ministry of Education

The Ministry of Education and Merit has clarified that the ruling concerns only 174 candidates, those who had passed the written test, and that there will be no repercussions on the hirings already carried out.and for the 2024/2025 school year.

In an official note, the Ministry declared: “The TAR has established that the practical test must be repeated for 174 candidates, but the retake will not affect the placements already made or the overall PNRR procedures.".

The political reaction: the M5S asks for clarifications

The cancellation of the competition has sparked reactions in the political world. The exponents of the The 5 Star Movement in the Culture Commission have harshly criticized the management of the selection and asked for the intervention of the minister Giuseppe Valditara"The TAR decision throws thousands of teachers into chaos, putting the regular start of the next school year at risk. The Ministry must identify those responsible and intervene with rapid solutions to prevent schools from being left without laboratory teachers".

What happens now

In execution of the sentence, the Ministry will have to organize the practical test again for the 174 interested candidates and then proceed with the oral test. Only at the end of this process will it be possible to draw up a new ranking, valid from the next school year.

Competition, banned nationwide, foresaw 60 places for this specific competition class in the five regions involved (Abruzzo 2, Emilia-Romagna 27, Marche 8, Puglia 14, Umbria 9). The partial cancellation does not compromise the entire national procedure, but represents a new obstacle in the complex implementation of the Pnrr recruitment plan for schools.