2 circulars on teachers’ appointment struck down

Two state government circulars seeking to compel private colleges to fill vacant teachers’ posts from the list of teachers declared surplus in other educational institutes were struck down on Friday.

Two state government circulars seeking to compel private colleges to fill vacant teachers’ posts from the list of teachers declared surplus in other educational institutes were struck down on Friday.

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The Bombay high court struck down the circulars saying they were not enforceable against minority institutes, whose constitutional right to administer their institutes has been upheld by the Supreme Court. The Maharashtra Association of Minority Educational Institutes had challenged the circulars issued by the state government on April 1, 1999 and May 7, 1999. The circulars sought to compel educational institutes to appoint teachers from the list of surplus teachers available with the office of the director of education whenever the posts are vacant.

The circulars also required that the educational institutes obtain no-objection certificates from the director of education if no teacher from the surplus pool was available. They also stated that the teachers appointed by contravening the circulars would be treated ineligible for grant of salary, which would be liability. The circular issued on May 7, further provided that the seats advertised for backward category should be filled only by candidates from that category.