The Supreme Court on Tuesday restrained the Assam government and its education departments from appointing or absorbing any teachers in schools and colleges under the state’s provincialisation policy, pending further hearing of a legal challenge to the framework.
A three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi, and Justice V Mohana issued the interim direction, ordering that no appointments or absorptions take place under the relevant statutory framework, including the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, the National Council for Teacher Education Act, 1993, and the University Grants Commission Act, 1956. The court also issued notices seeking responses from the central government, the Assam government, the commissioner and secretary concerned, and the state directors of elementary, secondary, and higher education.
Constitutional Challenge To Recruitment Process
The orders came during a hearing on a public interest litigation petition filed by Rajesh Chauhan and Madhab Mukunda Pujari, represented by senior advocate Ranjit Kumar. The petition challenges the constitutional validity of Assam’s statutory mechanism for provincialising staff at venture educational institutions, contending that it facilitates entry into substantive government service without a competitive, open, and merit-based recruitment process.
According to the petitioners, bypassing open recruitment infringes on fundamental protections under Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution, which guarantee equality before the law and equal opportunity in public employment.
Objections To Statutory Provisions And Tutor Roles
The plea specifically takes issue with clauses in the Assam Education Act, 2017, arguing that they permit the provincialisation of individuals who do not satisfy the minimum qualifications laid down by parliamentary legislation and statutory rules. Inducting personnel without these mandatory qualifications into state-run or provincialised schools and colleges violates Articles 14, 21A, and 254 of the Constitution, the petition states.
The litigation also challenges provisions governing the provincialisation of tutors, submitting that individuals lacking the legally mandated qualifications should not be authorised to deliver classroom instruction in government or provincialised institutions.
Review And Recruitment Reforms Sought
The petitioners have asked the top court to order a comprehensive verification exercise by the Assam government covering all individuals provincialised under both the Assam Venture Educational Institutions Act, 2011, and the 2017 statute. The requested scrutiny would focus exclusively on confirming whether those individuals hold the qualifications prescribed by central enactments and statutory bodies.
In addition to seeking a permanent bar on unqualified personnel teaching in schools and colleges, the plea asks the court to restrain the state from carrying out any further teacher recruitments through provincialisation. The petitioners have urged that all upcoming appointments to government teaching posts be conducted strictly through a transparent, merit-oriented, and competitive selection system.
Financial Scope Of Provincialisation
Under Assam’s statutory scheme for venture educational institutions, provincialisation transfers the financial liabilities of these entities to the state government. Once taken over, the state provides staff with fixed salaries, pensions, gratuity, and leave encashment benefits in accordance with the service rules applicable to regular state government employees.
