UP to challenge verdict over jobs of 13,000 Urdu teachers

The Uttar Pradesh government will file a special petition in the Allahabad High Court for restoring the selection of 13,000 assistant Urdu teachers.

The Uttar Pradesh government will file a special petition in the Allahabad High Court for restoring the selection of 13,000 assistant Urdu teachers.

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On Friday, the court had termed the Mulayam Singh Yadav government's appointment of 13,000 teachers for the basic training certificate (BTC) course in Urdu in primary schools as "illegal and contrary to statutory rules". The HC also quashed advertisements and government orders published in this regard.

The judgement was passed while deciding on the writ petitions of Sumbul Naqvi and several others who had moved court contending that qualified teachers were available for appointment against existing vacancies and therefore the process of direct recruitment through special BTC training course, Urdu, was totally uncalled for.

Speaking to the media on Sunday, the chief minister's Principal Secretary Shailesh Krishna said the state government was committed to protect the interest of the 13,000 Urdu teachers concerned.

"We would adopt all the legal means to protect the training and job opportunity of the selected teachers…The government is also committed to protecting the Constitutional rights of linguistic minorities," he said. The senior bureaucrat, however, added that the state government is yet to receive a copy of the court order. He said 13,000 candidates had been selected for the two-year special BTC course (Urdu) for appointment of assistant Urdu teachers in various institutions run by the Basic Education Department. Around 8,000 candidates have been undergoing training over the past year.