Supreme Court extends services of 10,323 ad-hoc teachers in Tripura for 2 years

A CORRESPONDENT

AGARTALA: A three-member bench of Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi in a significant judgment extended the services of total 10,323 teachers who are serving as ad-hoc basis after Tripura High Court declared their appointment as illegal which was upheld by the apex court.

The judgment is a great relief for these teachers whose tenure as ad-hoc already expired and was extended by the Supreme Court till Wednesday’s hearing. It is also a great relief for the ruling BJP as before the last Assembly elections they were assured that their services as teachers would not be terminated.

Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb has stated that it is a matter of great joy that the Supreme Court has extended the services of these teachers. Education Minister Ratan Lal Nath also expressed his happiness.

The three-member bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and also comprising Justice Kurien Joseph and Justice Udai Umesh Lalit in their judgment extended the service of the ad-hoc teachers for two years as prayed by the State government.

What is more significant is that the bench instructed the Union Government to consider a proposal submitted by the State government to give one-time relaxation to the teachers who do not have requisite qualification and training to appear for the Teachers Eligibility Test.

However, the apex court directed the State government to strictly follow the TET method of teacher recruitment and to encourage the students to complete the B Ed and d. Eled D. EL Ed to enable them to apply for teachers’ posts.

It may be recalled that these teachers were appointed by the earlier Left Front Government violating the eligibility criteria enshrined in the New Education Policy while some candidates filed a case alleging that they were deprived despite having better results.