Supreme Court bars appointment and continuation of unqualified teachers under RTE, NCTE, UGC norms

The Supreme Court has issued an interim order barring schools and colleges from appointing or continuing teachers who do not meet qualifications prescribed under the RTE Act, NCTE Act and UGC framework. The direction came while hearing a PIL challenging teacher provincialisation schemes, with the matter now awaiting further consideration.

The Supreme Court has passed an interim order restraining the appointment or continuation of teachers in schools and colleges unless they possess the qualifications prescribed under the applicable statutory framework, including the Right to Education (RTE) Act, National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) Act and University Grants Commission (UGC) Act.A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V. Mohana issued the direction while hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) challenging statutory schemes that provide for the provincialisation of teachers and employees of educational institutions.Supreme Court on qualifications for teachersAs an interim measure, the bench directed that teachers should not be appointed or continued in service in schools or colleges without possessing the requisite qualifications prescribed under the applicable laws, as reported by Livelaw.The court ordered: “As an interim measure, no teacher shall be appointed/observed in schools/colleges unless possessing requisite prescribed qualification under Right to Education Act/NCTE Act/UGC Act.”The direction covers the qualifications prescribed under the relevant statutory framework governing teachers in schools and higher education institutions.PIL challenges provincialisation of teachersThe interim direction was issued after the Supreme Court took up a PIL challenging statutory schemes related to the provincialisation of teachers and employees of educational institutions.According to the live law report, the petition questions the constitutional validity of such schemes to the extent that they allow teachers and other employees of educational institutions to enter substantive Government service without undergoing a fair, transparent and competitive recruitment process.The PIL has raised concerns over the manner in which such employees are brought into Government service and whether the statutory schemes are consistent with constitutional requirements governing public employment.The Supreme Court has issued notice in the matter, with the interim direction on teacher qualifications continuing as the case is considered further.