RAGINI SINHA Vs. STATE OF JHARKHAND

JUDGEMENT

(1.) With a little difference in facts and few variations in the prayer, all these writ-petitions raise a common question; whether for appointment to the post of teacher (Languages) in Upper Primary School (Class VI to VIII), a qualification of Graduation with Language as one of the Elective/Subsidiary subjects is mandatory or a Graduate in Mathematics/Science or Social Sciences with MIL as a compulsory subject is also eligible for appointment as a Language teacher in Upper Primary Schools? Answer to this question requires an in-depth examination of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 (hereinafter referred to as RTE Act) and the Notifications issued by the National Council for Teacher Education.

(2.) The RTE Act, 2009 was enacted to provide for free and compulsory education to all children of the age of six to fourteen years. It received the assent of the President on 26.08.2009 and was published in the Gazette of India on 27.08.2009. The Schedule appended to the RTE Act, 2009 provides norms and standards for the schools. For Class I to V, for every 60 children in a school there shall be a minimum of 2 teachers. The number of teachers has been increased in proportion to the number of children in a school. The Schedule mandates that the pupil-teacher ratio (excluding Head Teacher) shall not exceed forty. In contradistinction to the norms and standards for Class I to V, the Schedule prescribes subject-teachers for Class VI to VIII. It provides that at least one teacher, each, for (i) Science/Mathematics, (ii) Social Sciences, and (iii) Languages, shall be appointed for every 35 children in a school for Class VI to VIII, and where the number of children is above one hundred there shall be one Full-time Head Teacher and Part-time Instructors for (i) Art-education, (ii) Health and Physical education, and (iii) Work education.

(3.) The authority authorised by the Central Government under Section 23 of the RTE Act, 2009 is authorised to lay down minimum qualifications for appointment as a teacher. A National Council for Teacher Education has been established under Section 3 of the NCTE Act, 1993. The Council has been established with a view to achieve planned and coordinated development for the teacher education system throughout the country, and for regulation and proper maintenance of norms and standards in the teacher education system and for the matters connected therewith. The National Council for Teacher Education, established by the NCTE Act, 1993, is the academic authority authorised by the Central Government to lay down minimum qualifications for appointment as a teacher, which by a Notification dated 23.08.2010 laid down such minimum qualifications. This notification was amended vide Notification dated 29.07.2011. The amendment was necessitated in the wake of representations received from the State Governments and other stakeholders for including B.Com degree in addition to B.A./B.Sc. as one of the qualifications for appointment as a teacher. While Notification dated 23.08.2010 prescribed the educational qualification of "B.A./B.Sc.", the amended notification simply says "Graduation". By Notification dated 29.07.2011, the NCTE has laid down the following "minimum qualifications" for appointment as a teacher for Class-VI to VIII: