GUWAHATI, Sept 8: The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the Assam government and its education departments not to appoint or absorb teachers in schools and colleges under the state’s provincialisation scheme, pending further consideration of a challenge to the statutory framework.
A Bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana issued notices to the Centre, Assam government and senior education officials on a PIL challenging the constitutional validity of the provincialisation scheme for teachers and employees of venture educational institutions.
The petitioners, Rajesh Chauhan and Madhab Mukunda Pujari, argued that the framework allowed individuals to enter substantive government service without undergoing a fair, transparent and competitive recruitment process, allegedly violating Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution.
As an interim measure, the court directed that no teachers be appointed or absorbed under the applicable statutory framework, including laws and regulations governing teacher eligibility.
The petition challenged provisions of the Assam Education (Provincialisation of Services of Teachers and Re-organisation of Educational Institutions) Act, 2017, alleging that it allowed the provincialisation of persons who did not possess minimum qualifications prescribed under parliamentary laws and statutory regulations.
The petitioners also challenged provisions relating to the provincialisation of tutors, arguing that those without prescribed minimum qualifications should not be allowed to teach in government or provincialised institutions.
The plea sought a review of persons provincialised under the Assam Venture Educational Institutions (Provincialisation of Services) Act, 2011 and the 2017 Act to verify whether they possessed the qualifications mandated under applicable laws. It also sought directions to fill future government teaching posts through a fair, transparent, merit-based and competitive recruitment process.
