UP Government asked to form Committee for Recruiting Primary Teachers

In order to select the eligible candidates who have successfully passed Teacher’s Eligibility Test (TET) as primary teachers, the Supreme Court ordered the Uttar Pradesh government to constitute a committee. This committee would be responsible for accepting and deciding the fate of the applicants for primary teacher posts depending on their eligibility and qualification.

The bench of justice Dipak Misra and UU Lalit gave the orders to the Secretary of Basic Shiksha Board of the state. It ordered the state government to set up a panel within a period of three weeks which would be responsible for the recruitment of the primary teachers in the state. The Supreme Court didn’t pass any order regarding the striking down of UP government’s decision to regularize contractual teachers in primary schools by the High Court. The court decided that the marks obtained in TET can be the sole criteria for the candidates to be appointed as teachers. The bench also asked the UP government to make the total number of posts vacant of the primary teacher public by 7 December, which is the next date of hearing regarding the matter.

According to the Additional Advocate General Gaurav Bhatia, who is representing the state government, “A total vacancy of 72825 has been advertised, out of which 43077 posts have already been filled till September 24 after they completed training. 15058 primary teachers were still to appear for examination on November 16 and 17.”

Earlier the three judge Allahabad High Court bench had ruled out the state education department’s rules according to which 1.71 lakh contractual teachers were being regularized in schools as primary teachers, popularly known as “Shiksha Mitras”. The Court had pointed out that the decision of the state to regularize these teachers would be a clear violation of the National Council for Teacher’s Education (NCTE) norms along with provision under Right to Education Act, 2010.

The State Government had regularized nearly 59000 contractual teachers in June 2014. This year the number rose to 73000 in the second phase by the government.