VISHWAS KUMAR Vs. STATE OF UTTARAKHAND

JUDGEMENT

(1.) HEARD Mr. Manish Arora, learned counsel for the petitioners, Mr. H.M. Raturi, learned standing counsel for the State of Uttarakhand, Mr. Abhishek Verma Advocate holding brief of Mr. Sudhir Singh, learned counsel for respondent no. 3 and Ms. Geeta Parihar, learned counsel for respondent no. 4.

(2.) THE petitioners are the candidates for examination known as Teachers Eligibility Test. This examination has now been conducted after Article 21 A (b) has been inserted in Part III of the Constitution of India and Right to Education Act having been a fundamental rights. Consequently, Parliament enacted a legislation known as Right to Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 (from hereinafter referred to as the Right to Education Act). Under the said Act, the qualifications of a teacher who will now be eligible to teach children in elementary school have to be prescribed by the academic authority of the Central Government under the said Act. Under Section 23 of the above Act only a person possessing said minimum qualification as laid down by an academic authority authorized by the Central Government (which now is National Council of Teacher Education, which is a Central Body) shall be eligible to be appointed as a teacher, in an elementary school.

(3.) THE academic authority has laid down certain qualifications, which were challenged by the number of writ petitioners before this Court and the leading case being writ petition no. 772 (SS) of 2011 Baldev Singh and others Vs. State of Uttarakhand and others which the validity of such a test, i.e. Teachers Eligibility Test, (TET for short) which a person must qualify in order to become a teacher has been upheld by this Court.