The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : High Court rejects proposal on computer instructors

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Mar 14, 2007
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

High Court rejects proposal on computer instructors

Special Correspondent

CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has struck down a Tamil Nadu Government proposal to hold a special test for part-time computer instructors and appoint them as regular teachers in 1,880 new posts created in Government and Corporation schools.

Passing orders on a batch of writ petitions, Justice P. Jyothimani said: "After the 1,880 posts of Computer Instructors are created in accordance with law, it is not open to the Government to continue the ad hoc arrangements or to restrict the right of participation in the selection process only to the limited group of persons when qualified persons as per the statutory rules are available in large numbers.

"Such [a] policy of restricting the selection process can only be treated as perverse and basically in violation of Article 14 and 16(1) of the Constitution... When there is a violation of the fundamental right of equality guaranteed under Article 14, even by way of the policy of the Government the court cannot be expected to remain silent."

Special test

The matter relates to a School Education Department letter dated October 4, 2006, creating 1,880 computer instructor posts for Government and Corporation Higher Secondary Schools at the rate of one instructor for each school. It sought to hold a special test for the instructors working on a temporary basis, after being recruited by the ELCOT and NIIT in 1999-2000. The impugned letter also sought to dispense with the mandatory requirement of B.Ed. qualification for them.

But, some of the writ petitioners sought to terminate the services of these part-time instructors and direct the authorities to fill the vacancies with candidates possessing B.Ed., besides following recruitment rules and the rule of reservation. They wanted it done through employment exchanges.

Agreeing with the submissions, Mr. Justice Jyothimani said it was a settled position that whenever the Government created new posts, it was incumbent on its part to follow the policy of reservation, apart from sponsorship through employment exchanges.

"Statutory compulsion"

Describing these requirements as "statutory compulsion," the Judge said, "On the facts and circumstances of the case, it is not in dispute that the computer instructors, who have been appointed on [a] contract basis in 1999-2000 and whose appointments are sought to be made on regular basis under the impugned notification, are certainly not in conformity with any of the rules of the special rules of the Tamil Nadu Secondary Education Services."

Mr. Justice Jyothimani said it was not necessary to consider whether the contract instructors were legally appointed or not. He, however, added that it was for the Government to allot a particular percentage of seats to these candidates considering their rich experience either by way of specific exemption from required qualification or by way of providing an opportunity for them to undergo B.Ed. course within a stipulated period.

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