D.El.Ed., Not B.Ed., is an Essential Qualification for the Post of Primary School Teacher: Supreme Court Reiterates its Earlier Decision
In a recent judgment, the Supreme Court (SC) of India upheld the Chhattisgarh High Court (HC) judgment that declared all candidates having a B.Ed. qualification to be ineligible and disqualified from selection for the post of primary school teacher. It maintained its previous ruling in the Devesh Sharma vs. Union of India case, stating that the essential qualification for such appointments is a Diploma in Elementary Education (D.El.Ed.). The Supreme Court bench constituting Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia and Justice Pankaj Mithal was hearing a batch of SLP (Special Leave Petitions) filed by the teachers with B.Ed. qualification whose appointments have been quashed after the judgment of the Chhattisgarh HC stating that the B.Ed. candidates were not entitled to be appointed as primary school teachers. The bench observed, “...the judgment in Devesh Sharma was communicated to Chief Secretaries of all State Governments for further appropriate action. In spite of this, appointments were given to B.Ed. candidates which was illegal and has now rightly been quashed, by the Chhattisgarh High Court.”
The case was initiated from a judgment by the Rajasthan HC where it was held that for appointment of primary school teachers (i.e., teachers of Class I to Class V), the essential qualification is D.El.Ed. (i.e., Diploma in Elementary Education) and not B.Ed. (i.e., Bachelor in Education), and B.Ed. qualified candidates were held to be disqualified. This decision was challenged before the top Court leading to the SC’s decision in Devesh Sharma delivered on August 11, 2023. The SC upheld the decision of the Rajasthan HC quashing a 2018 notification by the NCTE (National Council for Teacher Education) that made B.Ed. holders eligible for primary teaching posts. After this judgment, review applications, clarifications, etc. were filed mainly by the candidates who had B.Ed. qualification and were selected and appointed by different States in the recent selection process for primary school teachers. The bench heard those applicants and clarified that such B.Ed. qualified candidates who were selected and appointed before the decision in Devesh Sharma should not be disturbed as there was special equity in their favor. Therefore, the judgment would be prospective in nature, and will not disturb the appointments of such candidates who had already been appointed before the judgment.
Despite this, clarification and review applications kept coming up in one form or the other which were all dismissed. In the present batch of petitions, the same question came up before the SC arising out of a judgment of the Chhattisgarh HC. After hearing the matter, the SC opined, “All we had said in Devesh Sharma was that since the law, making B.Ed. as qualification was not struck down by any Court (as was the position in Rajasthan when recruitment to the post of teachers were taking place in 2019) such candidates ought to have been called at least.” It added, “As we know when recruitment to the post of teachers was being made in Rajasthan, B.Ed. was a qualification for teachers as per the NCTE notification. The above observation made by us was only to affirm the findings of the Rajasthan High Court which had although held that B.Ed. was not a valid ‘qualification’ for primary teachers, yet cautioned that the Government could not have ignored the notification of the NCTE till it was declared illegal by a Competent Court.” The bench further said that in Chhattisgarh B.Ed. qualified candidates were called by the State in the selection process, yet as they were held to be non-qualified by a judgment of the apex Court, which is the law now and by logic has to be implemented, they were rightly held to be disqualified.
Furthermore, the bench said, “How does our observations in Devesh Sharma help the petitioners, we simply fail to understand. This argument is totally misconceived. B.Ed. is not a qualification for a teacher in a Primary School. Moreover, this aspect has already been clarified in the order dated 08.04.2024, where only such candidates have been saved who were selected and appointed prior to our order dated 11.08.2023 in Devesh Sharma.” Lastly, the bench concluded, “What is important is the date of appointment which is certainly after the cut-off date. They will stand disqualified, as they do not have the essential qualification for appointment as primary school teachers.” The SC also said that following the law laid down in the Devesh Sharma case, the qualification given in the Chhattisgarh rules that makes B.Ed. a qualification cannot be implemented. It added, “In fact, we have been shown today (August 28) an order of NCTE dated 04.09.2023 whereby the judgment in Devesh Sharma was communicated to Chief Secretaries of all State Governments for further appropriate action. In spite of this, appointments were given to B.Ed. candidates which was illegal and has now rightly been quashed, by the Chhattisgarh High Court.” At last, the Supreme Court bench refused to interfere with the impugned judgment passed by the Chhattisgarh HC and dismissed all the SLPs.
To read the full judgment with Headnote, Navin Kumar & ors. Vs. Union of India & Ors. etc., Click Here.
