Bombay HC quashes GR preventing B Ed holders from becoming primary teachers

The Bombay high court on Friday struck down a government resolution issued by Maharashtra school education department that indirectly prevented Bachelor of Education

The Bombay high court on Friday struck down a government resolution issued by Maharashtra school education department that indirectly prevented Bachelor of Education (B Ed) degree holders from becoming primary teachers.

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A division bench of justice SV Gangapurwala and justice Shrikant Kulkarni, hearing a petition filed by Yogesh Maid from Ahmadnagar, struck down the GR issued on February 7, 2019, primarily on the ground that what it made mandatory was impossible to be fulfilled.

The bench noted that rules framed by the National Council for Teachers Education (NCTE) allowed B Ed degree holders to be appointed as teachers for Class 1 to 5 on a condition that they should complete the six months bridge course within two years of their appointment.

The GR, however, made it mandatory for the candidates to complete the bridge course before seeking appointment as primary teachers — an Impossibility, as the bridge course is only for in-service candidates and no B Ed degree holder can undergo the course unless he is appointed as a primary teacher, the bench noted.

It said the very eligibility criteria makes a person possessing B Ed ineligible to be appointed as a primary teacher. They cannot undergo six months bridge course unless they are in service and thus the condition of having completed the bridge course with B Ed is an onerous one, which in practice is impossible to be complied with, the bench added.

The government responded to the petition stating that the pre-condition was imposed for B Ed candidates, as B Ed course is framed to prepare teachers to teach secondary students and hence bridge course at the time of appointment as a primary teacher is more desirable. Additional government pleader SB Yawalkar further pointed out that the pre-condition was also imposed in view of the availability in a large number of Diploma in Education (D Ed) candidates, who are specifically trained for primary education. He informed the bench that between 2013 and 2018, 32,226 D Ed candidates have cleared Teachers Eligibility Test and thus they have become eligible for appointment as primary teachers.

The court, however, refused to accept the argument. It also found fault with the GR on the ground that prescribing such a condition was beyond the executive power of the state. “The state under its executive power can lay down a policy, but it has to be in conformity with the statute,” said the bench, adding, “Executive instructions overriding statutory mandate cannot withstand and given effect to.”