Tripura seeks SC nod to re-appoint teachers as peons

Tripura seeks SC nod to re-appoint teachers as peons

Dhananjay.Mahapatra@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:29.07.2020

In an unprecedented move, the Tripura government on Tuesday sought the Supreme Court’s permission to re-appoint over 10,000 post-graduate, graduate and under-graduate teachers whose appointments were quashed on court orders, as peons, night guards, gardeners, cooks and lower division clerks.

The Tripura government in 2010 and 2014 recruited 1,035 PGTs, 4,666 TGTs and 4,612 UGTs through oral interview under the Revised Employment Policy, 2003. The high court on May 7, 2014, set aside the 2003 policy and quashed the appointment of all teachers. The SC on March 29, 2017, upheld the HC order, directed framing of a new policy and fresh recruitment by December 31, 2017.

Though the new employment policy was framed in 2017, the state government continued the employment of terminated teachers on ad-hoc basis, citing shortage of teaching staff and noncompletion of recruitment through proper advertisement and examination process. The SC on November 1, 2018, had permitted the state to continue with the ad-hoc engagement of terminated teachers till March 31, 2020.

However, in between, the state devised a method to step around the order and sought to recruit the terminated teachers by creating 12,000 posts to absorb them as student counsellors, school library assistants, academic counsellors, hostel wardens and school assistants.

The age and qualification requirements were tailored to appoint the very same people. The SC issued a contempt notice, which forced the state to stop the misadventure.

The HC on May 7, 2014, had set aside the 2003 policy and quashed teachers’ appointments