RAMESH CHAND SHARMA Vs. STATE OF H.P.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This writ petition has been filed by 13 writ petitioners, some of whom are working on the post of Shastri, while some others are Language Teachers. It is contended in the writ petition that the respondent-State carried out amendment in the Recruitment and Promotion Rules of Shastri and Language Teachers, vide notification dtd. 27/8/2012, in the light of provisions of the Right to Education Act, 2009, thereby introducing the eligibility qualification of degree of Shastri with minimum 50% marks from any recognized University or B.Ed. Degree or qualification of Teachers Eligibility Test (TET Shastri) organized by the Himachal Pradesh Subordinate Selection Board, Hamirpur.

(2.) Thereafter the respondents on 16/11/2013, further amended the Recruitment and Promotion Rules of Language Teachers and as per clause (a) of the amended Rules, the essential qualification for Language Teacher is B.A. with Hindi as an elective subject and two years diploma in elementary education or as detailed out in para 4 of the writ petition.

(3.) Learned counsel for the petitioner contended that the aforementioned amendments were carried out in the light of the Right to Education Act, 2009 and the respondents, on that basis, maintained that B.Ed. is essential qualification, but when the petitioners were taken on employment, on contract basis, they are not holding the said essential qualification. Therefore, a condition was imposed that they will be required to acquire requisite qualification within a period of five years. Resultantly, the petitioners requested the respondent-Department to grant them permission to undertake the said course of B.Ed. Respondent No.1, on being approached by respondent No.2, issued clarification dtd. 30/6/2017, regarding the condition of acquiring minimum qualification as per the R and P Rules, qua the petitioners. As per the said clarification, the petitioners have to acquire the essential qualification i.e. B.Ed. Degree on or before 16/8/2018 or else their services would be liable to be terminated. Consequently, respondent No.2 issued a letter dtd. 31/8/2017 to respondent No.1, seeking clarification with regard to the different categories of "trained in service' teachers and respondent No.2 concluded that as per NCTE Guidelines, B.Ed. is essential training for Shastri and Language Teachers. A proposal was sent to Himachal Pradesh University to consider Shastri without OT training and Language Teacher without LT training for admission to B.Ed. course from International Centre for Distance Education and Open Learning (ICDEOL), for in-service teachers in view of the RTE Act and NCTE Guidelines.