SC slams UP govt's failure to fill 60,000 teachers' posts

Updated on: Monday, November 01, 2010

The Supreme Court termed as "appalling" Uttar Pradesh government's failure to fill 60,000 vacant teachers posts in primary institutions. It held that the Right to Education guaranteed by Article 21A would remain illusory if government does not take steps to set up the required number of schools with qualified teachers.

"The Right to Education guaranteed by Article 21A would remain illusory in the absence of State taking adequate steps to have required number of schools manned by efficient and qualified teachers," a Bench of Justices B Sudershan Reddy and S S Nijjar said in a judgement.

The apex court passed the judgement while dismissing UP government's appeal challenging the Allahabad Full Court judgement quashing the state's policy restricting the eligibility for Special Basic Training Course 2007 only to those who passed B.Ed. from institutions recognised by the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) as arbitrary and unreasonable.

Although appalling and almost unbelievable, the fact remains that in the state of Uttar Pradesh, more than 60,000 posts of Assistant Teachers in primary institutions run by Uttar Pradesh Basic Shiksha Parishad are lying vacant and unfilled for a long time for whatever be the reasons thereof," Justice Reddy, writing the judgement, said.

The apex court said that before teachers are allowed to teach the children, they are required to receive appropriate and adequate training from a duly recognised
training institute. But the restrictions imposed by the state was arbitrary and unreasonable. "Such is the importance of proper training to the teachers before they are allowed to teach the children of impressionable age. Part of the mantra of development economics today is a stress on universal primary education,
including specific emphasis on educating girls," the apex court said.

SC slams UP govt's failure to fill 60,000 teachers' posts

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