Candidates With B.Ed. Not Eligible To Be Appointed As Primary School Teachers: Patna High Court

The Patna High Court held that candidates with Bachelor of Education (B. Ed.) qualifications cannot be deemed eligible for appointment as primary school teachers.

The Court noted that the main issue was whether the Supreme Court's observation regarding the Rajasthan Government's exclusion of B.Ed candidates in its advertisement signifies a "prospective overruling" of the NCTE's 2018 notification. The Notification made B.Ed a valid qualification for primary teachers.

However, the High Court noted this observation was only made in the context of the Rajasthan High Court's decision and should not be interpreted as a general ruling on the issue.

The Bench headed by Chief Justice K. Vinod Chandran and comprising Justice Rajiv Roy observed, “The writ petitions are allowed with the finding that the notification dated 28.06.2018, issued by ‘the NCTE’ is no longer applicable and the B.Ed candidates cannot be considered eligible for appointment as primary school teachers”.

Senior Advocate Rajendra Narain appeared for the Petitioners, Senior Advocate Apurva Kumar appeared for the State, Senior Advocate Mrigank Mauli appeared for the Intervenor and Advocate Sunil Kumar appeared for the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE).

A set of writ petitions were filed challenging the eligibility of B.Ed. candidates for primary school teacher appointments based on a 2018 NCTE notification. This notification was subsequently nullified by the Supreme Court in Devesh Sharma v Union of India. The Petitioners contested the notification, and a similar challenge in the Rajasthan High Court was allowed, leading to the Supreme Court decision. The High Court had allowed the selection process to continue despite the challenge, with the final decision contingent on the writ petition's outcome.  

The High Court noted that a 2010 NCTE notification set the minimum qualification for primary teachers as a Diploma in Elementary Education. This was modified in 2018 to include a B.Ed. graduates, but this modification was later nullified. The High Court observed that the Supreme Court case of Ram Sharan Maurya v State of UP [(2021) 15 SCC 401] dealt with the issue of whether B.Ed candidates could participate in the selection process for appointment as primary teachers in Uttar Pradesh.

The Court acknowledged the Supreme Court's case regarding B.Ed. eligibility for primary teachers in Uttar Pradesh and confirmed the NCTE's authority to prescribe qualifications for school teachers, including primary teachers, based on the amendments made to the NCTE Act, 2011.

The Court framed the following issue: “​​whether there is any justification for the argument that the declaration made in Devesh Sharma (supra) is prospective in nature?”

The Court observed the concept of prospective application and concluded that it did not apply in this situation. The Court noted that the Supreme Court's comment about the Rajasthan government's exclusion of B.Ed candidates only applied to the specific case before the Rajasthan High Court and did not signal a broader change in policy.

“This impliedly indicates the prospective overruling is the contention raised; which we are unable to accept. The above observation was only in the context of the Rajasthan High Court, having set Patna High Court in the operative portion of its judgment held that the State Government could not have ignored the notification of ‘the NCTE’ while issuing the advertisement. The Rajasthan High Court had then clearly stated that since the notification itself was declared illegal the issue was only one of academic value”, the Bench noted.

The Court held that the National Council for Teacher Education's (NCTE) notification of 2018, allowing B.Ed candidates to be eligible for appointment as primary school teachers, was no longer valid.

The Court held that all appointments made based on the invalid 2018 NCTE notification need to be reviewed. Only individuals who met the qualifications outlined in the original 2010 NCTE notification can remain in their current positions. The state will then decide how to fill any vacant positions created by this review, potentially using the existing list of qualified primary school teacher candidates.

Cause Title: Lalan Kumar Yadav and Ors v State of Bihar and Ors

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