High Court Directs Recognition of Teacher's 20-Year Experience Despite Disqualification

Bilaspur,C.G

In a landmark ruling, the High Court has mandated that a teacher with 20 years of experience be considered for pension and benefits, even though her initial appointment lacked the requisite training qualification. The court emphasized that her long tenure and qualifications justified the decision, highlighting the need for fairness and adherence to constitutional principles.

The High Court has expressed displeasure over not considering a teacher as trained despite having more than 20 years of experience. The court has directed the Education Secretary and the Director of Public Education to take a decision in this matter within 60 days of receiving a copy of the order.

Let us tell you that Keshav Prasad Patel, a lecturer working in Government High School Bhalumar in Raigarh district, had filed a petition in the High Court in this regard. It was told in the petition that he has been teaching continuously for more than 20 years and his age has also crossed 50 years. In such a situation, he should be declared a trained teacher as per the government's circular of 1979.

The state government's circular of 22 November 1979 says that if a teacher has completed 20 years of service or his age has exceeded 50 years, then he does not need to go through the training process and he can be considered trained directly.

The teacher told the court that he had earlier sent his side to the senior officials of the department along with all the necessary documents, but no proper decision has been taken so far. In a similar case, a decision was given in favor of another teacher on the petition on 28 June 2021.

Justice Arvind Kumar Verma dismissed the petition and directed the Education Secretary and the Director of Public Instruction to decide within 60 days of receiving the copy of the order whether the petitioner can be given exemption considering him a trained teacher or not.