CORRESPONDENT, DEVI HIGHER SECONDARY SCHOOL, KUNNAMGAL Vs. CHIEF EDUCATIONAL OFFICER, KANYAKUMARI DISTRICT AT NAGERCOIL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) CHALLENGE in this Writ Petition is to the orders, dated 08.12.2007 and 18.10.2008, rendering one post of BT Assistant as surplus in the petitioner school and for a direction to the second respondent - District Educational Officer to approve the appointment of Tmt.M.R.Shiju Rajan, as the second BT Assistant in the petitioner school, with effect from 04.06.2007 and disburse grant -in -aid towards her salary and allowances.

(2.) THE case of the petitioner school is that it offers education from standards VI to XII. The total strength of the school is 366. There are 12 teachers [1 Headmistress, 7 PG Assistants, 2 BT Assistants and 2 Secondary Grade Teachers]. On account of retirement of the then incumbent, Tmt.Y.Premavathy, with effect from 31.05.2007, one Tmt.M.R.Shiju Rajan was appointed as BT Assistant, with effect from 04.06.2007. The petitioner school forwarded a proposal to the second respondent, on 14.08.2007, seeking to disburse grant -in -aid towards her salary. However, by the impugned orders, the first respondent rejected the claim of the petitioner school holding that one post of BT Assistant is surplus.

(3.) IN support of his contention, the learned counsel makes reliance upon the Judgment of a Full Bench of this Court in Director of Elementary Education, Chennai -6 and others v. S.Vigila and another, reported in 2006 (5) CTC 385. By virtue of the said Judgment, each class shall have a teacher compulsorily based on the students -teachers ratio, which has been propounded by the Government of India as a National Policy, and therefore, on any account, there cannot be any reduction in staff strength particularly, when the petitioner schools is maintaining the students strength uniformly. Hence, declaring the post of BT Assistant as surplus is unsustainable.