In a significant ruling, the Punjab & Haryana High Court has clarified that for the post of Junior Basic Teacher (JBT), the essential qualification must align with the Right to Education (RTE) Act and the guidelines of the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE). The court emphasized that either a Diploma in Elementary Education (D.El.Ed.) or a Bachelor in Elementary Education (B.El.Ed.) is mandatory.
The case arose from a plea by the Chandigarh Administration challenging an earlier decision by the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT). The CAT had directed authorities to consider candidates with either D.El.Ed. or B.El.Ed. qualifications for JBT recruitment.
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Quoting the bench,
“In order to maintain uniformity and to remove the ambiguity, we must read down the advertisement to include B.El.Ed. apart from D.El.Ed. to be equal qualification for the purpose of appointment as JBT Teacher with the sole purpose to save the advertisement and the selections which have already been made.”
The division bench comprising Justice Sanjeev Prakash Sharma and Justice Meenakshi I. Mehta emphasized the need to harmonize legal provisions.
“The Court must always attempt to harmonize the provisions of law in order to save the selections which have already been conducted,” said Justice Sharma.
The Court underlined that the RTE Act, 2009 mandates free and compulsory education for children aged 6 to 14. In line with this, the NCTE issued a notification in 2010 setting minimum qualifications for teaching Classes I to V. According to this:
“A candidate must have passed Senior Secondary (or equivalent) with at least 50% marks and completed either a 2-year Diploma in Elementary Education or a 4-year Bachelor of Elementary Education (B.El.Ed).”
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Additionally, passing the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) as per NCTE guidelines is also compulsory.
Highlighting the legal oversight, the Court stated:
“It was incumbent on the Chandigarh Administration to have adopted and framed their Rules in conformity with the notification issued by the NCTE in terms of the RTE Act and a departure could not have been made while issuing the advertisement.”
Thus, the bench concluded that both D.El.Ed. and B.El.Ed. are valid and equivalent qualifications for the post of JBT.
“There are two different qualifications which have been allowed for the said purpose. After the 2010 Regulations, it was necessary for the State and UT Authorities to have framed their Rules accordingly. Default by Chandigarh Administration cannot benefit any particular individual.”
As a result, the Court disposed of the pleas, reaffirming that candidates must possess a valid qualification in elementary education.
The case title is Union Territory, Chandigarh and others v. Sakshi Malik and others. The petitioners were represented by Ms. Madhu Dayal and Ms. Shubreet Kaur, while Mr. Rakesh Sobti and Mr. Parunjeet Singh represented the respondents.
