Devi Singh & Ors vs State (Education) & Ors on 14 May, 2012 1
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE FOR RAJASTHAN AT JODHPUR :ORDER:
1. Devi Singh & Others Vs. State of Rajasthan & Others (S.B. Civil Writ Petition No.1888/2012)
2. Rakesh Godara & Others Vs.
State of Rajasthan & Others
(S.B. Civil Writ Petition No.1839/2012) 3. Jenendra Kumar Pareek & Others Vs.
State of Rajasthan & Others
(S.B. Civil Writ Petition No.4366/2012) 4. Ram Lakhan Sharma & Others
Vs.
State of Rajasthan & Others
(S.B. Civil Writ Petition No.4483/2012)
DATE OF ORDER : May 14th, 2012. PRESENT HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE GOPAL KRISHAN VYAS ____________________________________
Mr. P.S. Bhati, Mr. P.R. Mehta, Mr. H.S. SidhuAnd Mr. Kailash Jangid for the petitioners.Mr. G.R. Punia, Sr. Advocate & Addl. Advocate Generalwith Mr. Mahendra Choudhary, Addl. Govt. Counsel.Mr. Kuldeep Mathur for NCTE.
Mr. Rakesh Arora for the respondent Board.BY THE COURT :
writ petitions are decided bythis common order. For the sake of convenience, the facts in 2 S.B. Civil Writ Petition No.1888/2012, Devi Singh & Others Vs.State of Rajasthan & Others are taken into consideration fordiscussion.
The petitioners are possessing qualification of graduationwith training course of B.Ed. and they are waiting for appearingin the competitive test for recruitment on the posts of Teacher(Grade-III) since 2006. Now, in the year 2012, advertisementshave been issued by the different Zila Parishads of all thedistricts in the State whereby applications have been invited forappointment on the posts of Teacher Grade-III. The mainprayer is that the respondents may be directed to allow thepetitioners to participate in the present selection process ofTeacher Grade-III subject to their performance in the RTET-2012 and, in the alternative, the respondents may be directed toconduct RTET-2012 prior to the recruitment of Teachers Grade-III in the year 2012 under the advertisements dated 24.02.2012issued by the various Zila Parishads of all the districts of theState. It is also prayed that the advertisements of TeacherGrade-III issued by the respondents may be quashed and setaside or may be stayed till conducting RTET-2012; and, anyother relief which may be deemed fit by this Court may begranted.
The main contention of the petitioners is that since 2006no recruitment is made by the State, however, in the year 2009the qualification for the post of Teacher Grade-III was changed 3 under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory EducationAct, 2009. The National Council for Teachers Education wasauthorized to lay down the qualifications; and, as perqualification laid down by the National Council for Teachers'Education (in short, NCTE hereinafter) a candidate forrecruitment on the post of Teacher Grade-III is required topossess TET qualification in addition to his academic and trainingqualification. The said eligibility is prescribed after amendmentin the Rules by the State Government.
Learned counsel for the petitioners submits that theCentral Government enacted the Right of Children to Free &Compulsory Education Act, 2009 on 26.08.2009, in which, underSection 23, it is provided that any person possessing suchminimum qualification as laid down by the Academic Authorityauthorized by the Central Government by notification shall beeligible for appointment as a Teacher. While exercising powerunder Section 23(1) the Central Government issued notificationon 31.03.2010, by which, the Central Government authorizedthe NCTE as the Academic Authority to lay down the minimumqualification for a person to be eligible for appointment asTeacher.
It is submitted by learned counsel for the petitioners thatafter authorization under Section 23(1) of the Act of 2009 videnotification dated 31.03.2010, the NCTE issued notification on23.08.2010 whereby the qualification was prescribed in which, in 4
Eligibility Test, is inserted and, inthe notification, it is specifically provided that candidates shouldpass the Teachers' Eligibility Test (TET) to be conducted by theappropriate Government in accordance with the Guidelinesframed by the NCTE for the purpose. After issuance of theaforesaid notification, another notification was issued wherebycertain amendments were made in the qualification by the NCTEon 29.07.2011 but the eligibility of passing TET remained thesame.
As per the notification, TET is to be conducted by theappropriate Government in accordance with the Guidelinesframed by the NCTE, therefore, for the purpose of conductingthe TET, the NCTE issued Guidelines (Annex.-P/2 filed in S.B.Civil Writ Petition No.4483/2012) and circulated the same to allthe States vide communication dated 11.02.2011. In para 11of the Guidelines, duty is cast upon the appropriate Governmentto conduct TET at least once every year and decided that validityof the period of TET qualifying certificate for appointmentsubject to maximum of 7 years for all categories. It is alsoprovided that there will be no restriction on the number ofattempts a person can take for acquiring the TET certificate. The main contention of the petitioners is that afterissuance of the Guidelines on 11.02.2011 in the year 2011, theState Government authorized the Board of Secondary 5 Education, Rajasthan, Ajmer to conduct the TET and said testwas conducted by the Board on 31.07.2011 and result wasdeclared in the month of August 2011. It is specificallysubmitted that due to inaction on the part of the State since2006 to 2011 no appointments are made for the posts ofTeacher Grade-III, therefore, all the posts occurred since 2006remained unfilled. Now, the State Government through the ZilaParishads is going to make recruitment of 40000 posts ofTeacher Grade-III and, for the same, advertisements have beenissued on 24.02.2012 and to participate in the recruitment of40000 posts only those candidates are eligible who qualified theTET 2011 examination and none else.
Learned counsel for the petitioners submits that since2006 no recruitment of Teacher Grade-III took place in theState of Rajasthan and, in the year 2009, when the Act of 2009was enacted and different qualification is prescribed through theNCTE, then, the process of conducting TET was initiated in theyear 2011. In the TET 2011 conducted by the Board ofSecondary Education, Rajasthan, Ajmer more than five lakhcandidates appeared; but, only 43.81 per cent femalecandidates were declared successful and 25 per cent malecandidates were declare successful.
toobtain the eligibility of TET certificate; therefore, competition for40000 posts has become so narrow because quite lessernumber of candidates who qualified the TET 2011 only areavailable and large number of candidates who are otherwisepossessed of the essential academic and training qualificationbut not able to get an opportunity to appear in the TET 2012 willbe deprived from the opportunity of participating in therecruitment process only due to inaction on the part of the Statebecause they are not possessing the certificate of TET eligibility.Therefore, it is prayed that there is total lethargy andmismanagement of affairs by the respondent State on accountof which lakhs of persons are deprived from the opportunity ofeven competing for recruitment on the posts of Teacher Grade-III.
Therefore, it is prayed by learned counsel for thepetitioners that the respondent State may be restrained fromproceeding with the process for making appointment on theposts of Teacher Grade-III in pursuance of the advertisementsissued by the State through Zila Parishads on 24.02.2012without first conducting TET 2012.
7
Learned counsel for the petitioners submits that due tonon-conducting TET - 2012 first the petitioners and like themlakhs of candidates have been deprived from competing in therecruitment process and opportunity is only available to thecandidates who cleared TET -2011, therefore, the action of therespondents is in violation of Articles 14, 16 and 21 of theConstitution of India. The respondents are snatching the rightof the petitioners due to their lethargic attitude although theyare possessed of the qualification which were in existence priorto amendment in the year 2009 and vacancies of the posts ofTeacher Grade-III have not been filled in since 2006 and, now,due to new eligibility criterion, the respondents are againsnatching the right of the petitioners by contemplating to firstproceed with the recruitment and, thereafter, conduct TET sometime in the year 2012 which would be of no avail for thepetitioners and lakhs of other persons like them. Therefore,prayer made in the writ petition may be allowed and therespondents may be directed to proceed for selection inpursuance of advertisements issued on 24.02.2012 and firstconduct TET - 2012 examination and, then, proceed forrecruitment of Teachers Grade-III for 40000 posts. The StateGovernment cannot be permitted to hold selection on the postsof 40000 teacher Grade-III from amongst the candidates whoqualified TET - 2011, therefore, the whole process of selectionmay be quashed.
Per contra, learned Addl. Advocate General submitted that 8
through the Board of SecondaryEducation, Ajmer; and, now, the said 40000 vacancies aresought to be filled up in accordance with the rules. LearnedAddl. Advocate General submits that notification issued by theNCTE with regard to qualification has already been upheld bythe Division Bench of this Court in D.B. Civil Writ PetitionNo.3954/2011 of Sushil Sompura along with 43 other writpetitions vide judgment dated 20.05.2011; and, prior to thatvide notification dated 11.05.2011, amendment was made in theRajasthan Panchayat Raj Act, 1994 and Rajasthan Pachayat RajRules 1996 and, under Rule 266 of the Rules, the qualificationprescribed by the NCTE was incorporated in the Rules,therefore, the State Government has been abiding by thequalification prescribed by the NCTE under the Act of 2009. It is further submitted that in the Guidelines, it is providedthat once in a year the TET should be conducted but, for thefirst time, in the month of July 2011, the said examination wasconducted and, similarly, it will be conducted in the 2012 also,that is to say, year 2012 has not yet ended, therefore, there can 9
be no grievance to the petitioners to the extent that TET is notconducted in the year 2012. However, the petitioners cannotclaim that selection process should be stayed and TET -2012should be conducted first; and, thereafter, to proceed forselection. It is submitted by the counsel for the State that thepetitioner could not succeed in the TET - 2011 examination,therefore, they cannot claim that TET - 2012 should beconducted first and, thereafter, to proceed for selection. Thepetitioners were allowed to appear in the TET 2011 in the monthof July 2011 but large number of candidates were declared failedand, now, the State Government is going to make recruitmentto fill up the vacancies of Teachers by which are vacant since2006. Therefore, no case is made out for interference in theprocess of selection and as such this writ petition may bedismissed.
Learned counsel appearing for the NCTE, Shri KuldeepMathur submits that after issuing notification prescribing ghequalifications and Guidelines for conducting the TET the StateGovernment/appropriate Government is under obligation tofollow the Guidelines formulated by the NCTE in its strict senseand if those Guidelines are not followed, then, the action of theState Government cannot be treated to be justified and legal. After hearing learned counsel for the parties, it isabundantly clear from the facts of the case that afteramendment made in the Rajasthan Panchayat Raj Act 1994 and 10
Rajasthan Pachayat Raj Rules, 1996, the qualification prescribedis in existence for recruitment on the posts of Teacher Grade-III. The existing qualification for the said post is based uponthe notification dated 23.08.2010 and notification dated29.07.2011 issued by the NCTE. Both the notifications are asfollows :
"NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR TEACHER EDUCATION NOTIFICATION
F.No.61-3/20/2010/NCTE/(N&S).-In exercise of the powersconferred by Sub-section (1) of the Section 23 of Right ofChildren to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 (35 of2009) and in pursuance of the Notification No.S.O. 750(E) dated31st March, 2010 issued by the Department of School Educationand Literacy, Ministry of Human Resource Development,Government of India, the National Council for Teacher Education(NCTE) hereby lays down the following minimum qualificationsfor a person to be eligible for appointment as a teacher in class Ito VIII in a school referred to in clause (n) of Section 2 of theRight of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009,with effect from the date of this Notification
:-1. Minimum Qualifications.-(i) Classes I-V
(a) Senior Secondary (or its equivalent) with at least 50%marks and 2 - year Diploma in Elementary Education (by 11
whatever name known) OR
Senior Secondary (or its equivalent) with at least 45% marksand 2 - year Diploma in Elementary Education (by whatevername known), in accordance with the NCTE (Recognition Normsand Procedure), Regulations 2002
OR
Senior Secondary (or its equivalent) with at least 50% marksand 4-year Bachelor of Elementary Education (B.El.Ed.) OR
Senior Secondary (or its equivalent) with at least 50% marksand 2 - year Diploma in Education (Special Education) AND
(b) Pass in the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET), to be conductedby the appropriate Government in accordance with theGuidelines framed by the NCTE for the purpose.(ii) Classes VI-VIII
(a) B.A./B.Sc and 2 - year Diploma in Elementary Education(by whatever name known) OR
B.A./B.Sc. with at least 50% marks and 1 - year Bachelor inEducation (B.Ed) OR
with the NCTE (Recognition 12
Norms and Procedure) Regulations issued from time to time inthis regard OR
Senior Secondary (or its equivalent) with at least 50% marksand 4-year Bachelor in Elementary Education (B.El.Ed.) OR
Senior Secondary (or its equivalent) with at least 50% marksand 4-year BA/B.Sc. Ed or B.A. Ed./BSc.Ed. OR
B.A./B.Sc. with at least 50% marks and 1 - year B.Ed. (SpecialEducation) AND
(b) Pass in the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET), to be conductedby the appropriate Government in accordance with theGuidelines framed by the NCTE for the purpose.2 Diploma/Degree Course in Teacher Education.-Forthe purposes of this Notification, a diploma/degree course inteacher education recognized by the National Council forTeacher Education (NCTE) only shall be considered. However,in case of Diploma in Education (Special Education) and B.Ed(Special Education), a course recognized by the RehabilitationCouncil of India (RCI) only shall be considered.
3. Training to be undergone.- A person -(a) with BA/B.Sc. with at least 50% marks and B.Ed qualificationshall also be eligible for appointment for class I to V upto 1st 13
January, 2012, provided he undergoes, after appointment, anNCTE recognized 6-month special programme in ElementaryEducation.
(b) with D.Ed. (Special Education) or B.Ed (Special Education)qualification shall undergo, after appointment, an NCTErecognized 6-month special programme in ElementaryEducation. 4 Teacher appointed before the date of thisNotification.-The following categories of teachers appointed forclasses I to VIII prior to date of this Notification need notacquire the minimum qualifications specified in Para (1) above:(a) A teacher appointed on or after the 3rd September, 2001i.e. the date on which the NCTE (Determination of MinimumQualifications for Recruitment of Teachers in Schools)Regulations, 2001 (as amended from time to time) came intoforce, in accordance with that Regulation.Provided that a teacher of class I to V possessing B.Edqualification, or a teacher possessing B.Ed (Special Education)or D.Ed (Special Education) qualification shall undergo an NCTErecognized 6 - month special programme on elementaryeducation.
Teacher Course (SpecialBTC) approved by the NCTE; 14
(C) A teacher appointed before the 3rd September, 2001, inaccordance with the prevalent Recruitment Rules.5 Teacher appointed after the date of this Notificationin certain cases.-Where an appropriate Government, or localauthority or a school has issued an advertisement to initiate theprocess of appointment of teachers prior to the date of thisNotification, such appointments may be made in accordancewith the NCTE (Determination of Minimum Qualifications forRecruitment of Teachers in Schools) Regulations, 2001 (asamended from time to time."
"NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR TEACHER EDUCATION NOTIFICATION
New Delhi, the 29th July, 2011
F.No.61-1/2011/NCTE/N&S).-In exercise of the powersconferred by sub-section (1) of the Section 23 of Right ofChildren to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 (35 of2009) and in pursuance of the Notification No.S.O. 750(E) dated31st March, 2010 issued by the Department of School Educationand Literacy, Ministry of Human Resource Development,Government of India, the National Council for Teacher Education(NCTE) hereby makes the following amendments to theNotification No.215 dated 25th August, 2010 published in theGazette of India, Extraordinary, Part-III, Section-4, videF.No.61-1/2011-NCTE (N&S), dated the 23rd August, 2010,laying down the minimum qualifications for a person to be 15
eligible for appointment as a teacher (hereby referred to as thePrincipal Notification), namely
:-(I) For sub-para (i) of para 1 of the Principal Notification,the following shall be substituted,
namely:-1. Minimum Qualifications:-(i) Classes I-V
(a) Senior Secondary (or its equivalent) with at least 50%marks and 2-year Diploma in Elementary Education (bywhatever name known)
OR
Norms andProcedure), Regulations, 2002. OR
Senior Secondary (or its equivalent) with at least 50% marksand 4-year Bachelor of Elementary Education (B.El.Ed.) OR
Senior Secondary (or its equivalent) with at least 50% marksand 2-year Diploma in Education (Special Education) OR
Graduation and two year Diploma in Elementary Education (bywhatever name known) AND
(b) pass in the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET), to be conducted bythe appropriate Government in accordance with the Guidelines 16
framed by the NCTE for the pourpose.
(II) For sub-para (ii) of para 1 of the PrincipalNotification, the following shall be substituted, namely :-1 (ii) Classes VI - VIII
(a) Graduation and 2-year Diploma in Elementary Education (bywhatever name known) OR
Graduation with at 50% marks and 1-year Bachelor ionEducation (B.Ed.) OR
Graduation with at least 45% marks and 1-year Bachelor inEducation (B.Ed.), in accordance with the NCTE (RecognitionNorms and Procedure) Regulations issued from time to time inthis regard.
OR
Senior Secondary (or its equivalent) with at least 50% marksand 4-year Bachelor in Elementary Education (B.El.Ed.) OR
Senior Secondary (or its equivalent) with at least 50% marksand 4-year B.A./B.Sc.Ed. or B.A. Ed./B.Sc.Ed. OR
Graduation with at least 50% marks and 1-year B.Ed. (SpecialEducation) AND
appropriate Government in accordance with the Guidelinesframed by the NCTE for the purpose.
(III) For para 3 of the Principal Notification the followingshall be substituted,
namely:-(i) Training to be undergone:-A person -(a) with Graduation with at least 50% marks and B.Ed.qualification or with at least 45% marks and 1-year Bachelor inEducation (B.Ed.), in accordance with the NCTE (RecognitionNorms and Procedure) Regulations issued from time to time inthis regard shall also be eligible for appointment to Class I to Vup to 1st January, 2012, provided he/she undergoes, afterappointment, an NCTE recognized 6-month Special Programmein Elementary Education;
(b) with D.Ed. (Special Education) or B.Ed. (Special Education)qualification shall undergo, after appointment an NCTErecognized 6-month Special Programme in ElementaryEducation. (ii) Reservation Policy :
Relaxation up to 5% in the qualifying marks shall beallowed to the candidates belonging to reserved categories, suchas ST/ST/OBC/PH.
(IV) For para 5 of the Principal Notification, the followingshall be substituted,
namely:-5.(a) Teacher appointed after the date of this notificationin certain cases:-Where an appropriate Government or local 18
authority or a shool has issued an advertisement to initiate theprocess of appointment of teachers prior to the date of thisNotification, such appointments may be made in accordancewith the NCTE (Determination of Minimum Qualifications forRecruitment of Teachers in Schools) Regulations, 2001 (asamended from time to time).
(b)The minimum qualification norms referred to in thisNotification apply to teachers of Languages, Social Studies,Mathematics, Science, etc. In respect of teachers for PhysicalEducation, the minimum qualification norms for PhysicalEducation teachers referred to in NCTE Regulation dated 3rdNovember, 2001 (as amended from time to time) shall beapplicable. For teachers of Art Education, Craft Education,Home Science, Work Education, etc. the existing eligibilitynorms prescribed by the State Governments and other schoolmanagements shall be applicable till such time the NCTE laysdown the minimum qualifications in respect of such teachers." It is admitted position of the case that TET is required tobe conducted by the States as per the Guidelines which arestatutory in force in view of the aforesaid notification ofamendment. Vide communication dated 11.02.2011 the NCTEcirculated the Guidelines to all the States for conducted the TETexamination. In the said Guidelines, following eligibility wasprescribed :
"Eligibility
5. The following persons shall be eligible for appearing in the TET :
i. A person who has acquired the academic and professional qualifications specified in the NCTE Notification dated 23rd August
2010.
ii. A person who is pursuing any of the teacher education courses (recognized by the NCTE or the RCI, as the case may be) specified in the NCTE Notification dated 23rd August
2010.
iii. The eligibility condition for appearing in TET may be relaxed in respect of a State/UT which has been granted relaxation under
sub-section (2) of section 23 of the RTE Act. The relaxation will be specified in the Notification issued by the Central Government under that sub-section."
In para 11 of the Guidelines, the frequency of conduct ofthe TET and validity period of the TET certificate is given asfollows :
"11. The appropriate Government should conduct a TET at least once every year. The Validity Period of TET qualifying
certificate for appointment will be decided by the appropriate Government subject to a maximum of seven years for all
categories. But there will be no restriction on the number of attempts a person can take for acquiring a TET Certificate. A person who has qualified TET may also
appear again for improving his/her score."The aforesaid para 11 clearly speaks that a duty is cast upon theappropriate Government while using the word "should" to 20
conduct the TET once every year so as to provide opportunity toacquire eligibility of TET by the candidates academic and trainingqualification.
opportunity to theaspirant candidates for acquiring TET eligibility only oncewhereas under the statutory Guidelines TET is envisaged to beconducted every year, therefore, after amendment in the year2009 hardship is caused to the candidates who are waiting since2006 and those candidates who have acquired qualification inthe year 2011 are even eligible for vacancies of the earlier yearsafter passing TET.
The State Government has authorized all the ZilaParishads of the State to initiate the process of selection and allthe Zila Parishads have issued advertisement dated 24.02.2012and, now, examination is likely to be held within short time. Inmy opinion, the Guidelines are mandatory in nature because it isexpressly provided that once every year TET examination shouldbe conducted. Here, in the State of Rajasthan, no recruitmenttook place since the year 2006 till date and, all the existingvacancies are clubbed and it resulted into accumulation of morethan 40000 existing vacancies, for which, the State Government 21
is going to make recruitment while granting opportunity to onlythose candidates who were declared in the TET 2011examination conducted by the Board in July 2011; meaningthereby, the scope of selection has become so narrow becausenot more than 2,75,000 candidates were declared successful inthe TET 2011 examination out of more than 700000 candidatesappearing in the test. Therefore, even if it is presumed thatcandidates who were declared successful in the TET 2011examination will be allowed to appear in the process of selectionfor 40000 posts the scope of competition shall become sonarrow that in the written examination as against one vacancyonly five or six candidates shall be available and large number ofcandidates will be deprived from getting any opportunity tocompete in the selection process although they are possessingthe essential academic and training qualification but they havenot yet been able to get the eligibility of TET certificate becausetill today TET examination has only once been conducted in theyear 2011.
It appears that the State Government after amending therules in the month of May 2011 has taken the decision to makerecruitment in very haphazard manner and it resulted into denialof appointment to lakhs of candidates, therefore, the action ofthe State Government is required to be checked by the NCTEbecause as per Articles 14, 16 and 21 of the Constitution ofIndia right of consideration cannot be curtailed due to inactionand lethargic attitude on the part of the State Government. As 22
per the Act of 2009, now, the NCTE is controlling and governingbody to maintain educational standards. The future of tiny totsas well as candidates who possess academic qualification andtraining is in the hands of the NCTE and it is the body who isunder obligation to check the State Government for not violatingthe Guidelines.
candidates who weredeclared successful in TET - 2011. It appears from the factsthat for the vacancies occurred since 2006 to 2012, the StateGovernment has initiated the process of selection only for thosecandidates who were declared successful in 2011 TETexamination only; meaning thereby, this selection process isonly for the candidates who were declared qualified in TET 2011and this happening is occasioned for the reason that the StateGovernment announced the vacancies in the month of February2012 whereas before that TET - 2012 ought to have beenconducted to enlarge the scope of selection and to provide thechance of acquiring eligibility of TET to the candidates who arewaiting since 2006.
Learned counsel for the petitioners invited my attentiontowards notes incorporated in the marks-sheet-cum-certificates 23
of TET issued to the successful candidates. I have perusedthe marks-sheet & certificate (Annex.-8) filed alongwith affidavit of a candidate Ram Kishan Choudhary bearingRoll No.5801815, issued by the Board of Secondary Education,Rajasthan, Ajmer. It is very strange that in the marks-sheet &certificate the following notes are incorporated by the Board : "Note.
1. This certificate has been issued by the Board on the basis of the affidavit and information furnished by the candidate that he/she
possesses the minimum educational and
professional qualifications prescribed by National Council for Teacher Education under the provisions of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act,
2009. The documents in support of the educational and professional qualifications of the candidate have not been verified by the VBoard before issuing this certificate. Before giving appointment to the candidate, the appointing authority should verify these documents to ascertain his/her eligibility.
2. The Board has not verified the documents of the candidates belonging to Scheduled
Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes, Special Backward Classes, Physically Handicapped, Divorced & Widowed Women and women candidates.
Therefore, before giving appointment to the candidate against the posts reserved for these categories, the appointing authority should verify the documents in support of the claim of the candidate and satisfy itself in this regard.
3. Those candidates who have been admitted to the RTET on the basis that they are
teacher education course and have been awarded the certificate of completion.
24
4. Qualifying the RTET will not confer any right on any person for recruitment/employment as it is only one of the eligibility criteria for appointment as teacher in elementary
schools.
5. The recruitment agency shall give weightage to the RTET scores in the recruitment process in accordance with the relevant
provisions in the recruitment rules."
Aforesaid Note No.1 clearly speaks that in the examinationconducted by the Board of Secondary Education, Ajmer in theyear 2011 the Board allowed all the candidates to appear in theRajasthan TET 2011 on the basis of affidavit and informationfurnished by the candidate that he possesses the minimumqualification prescribed by the NCTE under the provisions ofRight of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009and, further, it is observed that the documents in support ofeducational and professional qualifications of the candidate havenot been verified by the Board before issuing this certificate.Before giving appointment to the candidate, the appointingauthority should verify these documents to ascertain his/hereligibility.
Further, those candidates who have been admitted to theRTET 2011 on the basis that they are pursuing any teachereducation course as per the NCTE norms and standards can beeligible for appearing at the recruitment examination only afterthey have successfully completed the teacher education courseand have been awarded the certificate of completion; meaningthereby, as per the NCTE norms the candidates were allowed to 25
contrary to para 14 of theGuidelines which runs as under : "Award of TET Certificate
14. The appropriate Government conducting the Test shall award a TET Certificate to all successful candidates. The certificate should contain the name and address of the candidate, date of birth, Registration No. year/month of award of Certificate, marks obtained in each Paper, class level of its validity (Class I to V, class VI to VIII or both), and, in case of classes VI to VIII, the subject are (Science and Mathematics, Social Studies, etc.). The certificate may be electronically generated with adequate security features. Appropriate may consider utilizing the services of specialized 26
agencies for issuing de-materialized (demat) TET certificates as a security feature to avoid any kind of malpractice."
In view of the above, it appears that the conduct of the Board ofSecondary Education, Ajmer for conducting the Rajasthan TET2011 examination is in contravention of para 14 which is alsorequired to be checked by the NCTE because, after promulgationof the Act of 2009 and issuing notifications by the NCTE andGuidelines, no authority can be allowed to violate the provisionsof the Act as well as Guidelines issued by the NCTE under theAct of 2009. Therefore, in my opinion, all these facts arerequired to be examined by the NCTE because the above factsare not in the knowledge of the NCTE which is the controllingauthority of the education system of the country and educationof children under the Right of Children to Free & CompulsoryEducation Act, 2009.
Therefore, all above writ petitions are disposed of with thedirection to the NCTE to examine the action of the State ofRajasthan on the following issues and take final decisionwhether the State Government has rightly followed thenotifications issued under the Act of 2009 and Guidelines issuedby the NCTE for conducting TET and right in conducting selectionprocess for appointment on 40000 posts of Teacher Grade-IIIwithout conducting TET examination during the calendar year2012 :
(a) Whether it is not mandatory for the State 27
Government to conduct TET examination every year and, thereafter to proceed for making recruitment ?(b) Whether without conducting TET 2012 examination the State Government is right in conducting the selection process for recruitment on 40000 posts of Teacher which remained unfilled since 2006 while granting opportunity only to the candidates who cleared the TET 2011 examination and, thereafter, to hold TET 2012 examination ?
(c) Whether the vacancies arisen and not duly filled in since 2006 to 2012 can be filled in by conducting only one TET examination ?
2011 examination without assessing the eligibility of the candidates and examining their documents to enable them to appear in the TET examination, so also, in incorporating notes No.1 to 5 in addition to the facts narrated in para 14 of the Guidelines which is in violation of para 14 of the Guidelines ?(e) Whether the State Government is justified in making recruitment for filling up 40000 posts of Teacher Grade-III in the year 2012 on the basis of certificate issued by the Board in contravention of Para 14 of the Guidelines ?
(f) Whether it is not necessary for the State 28
Government to afford at least 3 opportunities for appearing at the TET examination before making recruitment for the reason that State Government is going to fill in vacancies arisen in between 2006 to 2012 for 6 years because as per the Guidelines TET examination is required to be conducted minimum once every year so as to grant opportunity to larger number of candidates to get opportunity for recruitment ?
The NCTE is hereby directed to take final decision within aperiod of 15 days from today or before examination becausealthough thousands of posts remained unfilled since 2006 but,now, the State Government is in a hurry to make recruitment onthe 40000 posts of Teacher Grade-III so as to grant opportunityto the candidates who qualified the TET - 2011 only withoutconducting TET 2012 examination. Copy of this order be givento the counsel for the NCTE today itself. (Gopal Krishan Vyas) J.
