M POONGUZHALI Vs. DIRECTOR OF SCHOOL EDUCATION

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS writ petition has been filed for the issuance of a writ of mandamus directing the third respondent to cancel the appointment of the fourth respondent and to appoint the petitioner as secondary Grade Teacher as per Rule 15 (4) of Tamil Nadu Recognised Private Schools (Regulations) Rules.

(2.) IT is the case of the petitioner that Ambur Co-operative Sugar Mills, which is run and administered under the control of Government of Tamilnadu, started a number of schools to benefit the children of employees and cane growers. The schools have nursery, Primary and higher secondary levels. The Special Officer of the Society or the President of the Board of the management will be the Secretary of the School. The petitioner had joined as Teacher in the nursery School, on 19. 2. 1985. While she was working, she had passed the degree of B. Ed. in 1992 and she is already holding the degree of Bachelor of Science and now working as a secondary Grade Teacher in the Nursery and Primary School. Initially, the petitioner was given consolidated pay and thereafter she was given time scale of pay. The petitioner further states that a Secondary Grade Teacher post fell vacant in the Higher Secondary School, which was not filled up as there was no qualified Scheduled Caste candidates with the Secondary Grade qualification. The Government had issued orders for the Government Schools to fill up the scheduled Caste quota with B. T. qualified persons. Later, the Government had extended the same Government Order to the Management Schools also. The petitioner had stated that she belongs to a Scheduled Caste community and she is having B. Ed. degree qualification. She is working for the past 17 years under the same Management. However, she has not been considered for appointment to fill up the said post. Whereas, the Special Officer, acting as a secretary, has called for a list of candidates from the employment exchange and conducted an interview and selected the fourth respondent herein as a Secondary Grade Teacher in the above mentioned School.

(3.) ON coming to know of such appointment being made, the petitioner had made a request to the School to furnish a copy of the order of the appointment made in favour of the fourth respondent. The Special Officer, who is the Secretary of the School, declined to furnish the copy of the said order. Therefore, the petitioner could not prefer a regular appeal as provided under the Tamil Nadu Recognised Private Schools (Regulations) Act, 1974. However, the petitioner had made a representation to the first respondent, on 17. 1. 2003. The petitioner also contends that she is given only a meagre salary of Rs. 1,620/- per month and that even an office Assistant or a Sweeper in a Government Institution is getting more, by way of salary. According to the petitioner, under Rule 15 (4) of the Tamil Nadu Recognised Private Schools (Regulations) Act, 1974, whenever any vacancy arises in a School it has to be filled up by appointing a person working in the school preferably from the teaching staff. Even though the petitioner has been working in the School from 1985, she has not been considered for the appointment. According to the said Rule, the management of the School can consider the candidates from outside, only if there are no qualified candidates available in the School before making a direct recruitment, that too, it should be only after the School Committee obtained prior permission from the concerned authority.