Karnataka govt asks SC to lift stay on appointment of primary teachers

New Delhi: The Karnataka government has approached the Supreme Court asking for the modification of its January 3, 2024, direction for keeping in abeyance 11,494 appointment orders issued by the state authorities for the post of Graduate Primary Teacher, in the recruitment process conducted after a notification issued on March 21, 2022.

It asked the top court to permit to continue employment to such teachers to whom appointment orders have been issued as it would cause grave consequences to the teachers as well as to students.

The application filed through advocate D L Chidananda enumerated consequences including that the State of Karnataka would be disabled from delivering on its obligation to promote high standards of primary education.

"It is not possible at this critical juncture of the academic year to secure the services of such a significantly large number of guest teachers to fill in for those whose appointments have been kept in abeyance by this court. Further, many guest teachers are reluctant to offer their services in rural areas, which is where they are most needed," it said.

Further by engaging guest teachers, the State would be promoting ad-hocism in its education system — a practice that has been frowned upon by the court on several occasions in the past.

"It is pertinently brought to the knowledge that a majority of the teachers whose appointments have been kept in abeyance, were teaching in Government Schools situated in rural areas of the State. Non-availability of teachers is likely to inflame the existing inequities in the quality of education, enrolment and attendance outcomes of students in rural areas," it said.

The state government also said students would be the worst affected stakeholders owing to discontinuity that has crept into their academics as a result of non-availability of teachers in schools.

Further, this would not only have consequences on the academic aspect of school education, but would also contribute to negative behavioral and attitudinal changes, as the conventional degree of supervision and enforcement is no longer present due to absence of teachers, it said.

The selected candidates who were imparting teaching in 35 educational districts in the state would be gravely prejudiced causing financial hardship to such candidates, but the fact of being rendered unemployed overnight would compound feelings of intense shame and trauma for such candidates.

The number of teacher vacancies across 35 education districts, as on date stands at 41,096. These statistics have been arrived at after excluding the 11,494 appointments which have now been kept in abeyance.

"It is therefore not far to see that the problem of shortfall of Graduate Primary Teachers in the State will be exacerbated as a result of the order of this court," the state government said.

It stated that in the recruitment process, several candidates were found ineligible for their claim for reservation based on the income certificate of their parents.

The selection authority had observed that in respect of married woman candidates, for the purpose of determining creamy layer exclusion, the family income would be determined after considering the income of the husband and not that of their parents.

The reservation certificates filed by them with their applications being based on the income of their parents was found contrary to the government order of December 12, 1986, which provided that in case of married women, the family income is to be calculated by including the income of her husband while the income of her parents is not to be added.