8/14/2019 PIL or Contempt Petition for Stopping Deployment of Teachers in Non Teaching Duties

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PIL or Contempt Petition for Stopping Deployment of Teachers in Non

Teaching Duties?

Waliullah Ahmed Laskar

Barak Human Rights Protection Committee (BHRPC) a human rights organisationworking in Assam, filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) petition in the Gauhati High

Court on the issues that deployment of teachers of government and government aidedschools in non-teaching duties such as census, electoral roll preparation, roll revision,

conduct of election to the Gaon Panchayats, Municipal Corporations, State Assembly,

National Parliament, pulse polio drive etc. disrupts the academic schedule of these

schools. According to State Report Card (Raw Data)-2006-07, as many as 51768 teachersin Assam were involved in non-teaching duties losing 23.71% of teaching days. The

BHRPC estimated that the figure is almost same for the academic year 2007-08.

More over, no appointment to the posts of teachers has been made since 1994. There are

as many as 35% primary schools in Assam are single teacher schools in 2007-08according to the District Information for School Education (DISE) system. The increasein the number of single teacher schools is telling:

All Schools All Schools All Schools Primary Schools

2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2007-08

16.67 29.50 26.88 35.06

The BHRPC enumerated that there are more than 650 single teacher schools in Cachar, asmall district among 28 districts in the state.

Consequently, students from these schools perform very poorly in the BoardExaminations in comparison to the students of private schools. Virtually their educationends at the threshold of higher education. It is almost impossible for them to get

admission into colleges and professional institutes. The certificate of primary education

given to the students who pass school exams with poor score is of no use to them becauseit cant fetch a seat in an institute of higher education; leave aside the question of a job.

The Government and Government aided schools, therefore, fail to provide equalopportunity to the students from poorer strata of the society, who study in such schools

and cant afford to study in private schools or get private tuition unlike their counter part

from the well-off families.

As the constitution of India has provided right to equal opportunity to all under Article

14, right to education under Article 21A and 45, the frequent deployment of teachers of

Government and Govt. aided schools in non-teaching duties resulting in virtual shutdown of schools for substantial period depriving the students of their rights amount to

violations of fundamental rights enshrined in these Articles.

http://bhrpc.net.googlepages.com/BHRPCV.StateofAssamOrder.pdfhttp://bhrpc.net.googlepages.com/BHRPCV.StateofAssamOrder.pdfhttp://bhrpc.net.googlepages.com/aboutushttp://bhrpc.net.googlepages.com/BHRPCV.StateofAssamPetition.pdfhttp://bhrpc.net.googlepages.com/BHRPCV.StateofAssamPetition.pdfhttp://bhrpc.net.googlepages.com/aboutushttp://bhrpc.net.googlepages.com/BHRPCV.StateofAssamOrder.pdfhttp://bhrpc.net.googlepages.com/BHRPCV.StateofAssamOrder.pdf

8/14/2019 PIL or Contempt Petition for Stopping Deployment of Teachers in Non Teaching Duties

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The similar questions were also raised in the Supreme Court of India in Civil Appeal No.

5659 of 2007 (Election Commission of India Vs. St. Marys School and ors.) where it

was held that the teachers should not ordinarily be put on non teaching duties in teachingdays. The BHRPC also claimed that the directives passed in its Judgment & Order in this

case is not implemented or acted upon by the Govt. of Assam and State Election Officer,

Assam. It was prayed in the petition that the authorities may be directed to adhere to theorder passed by the Supreme Court in the Saint Marys School case.

The petition was registered as PIL No. 17 of 2009 and heard on 6 March, 2009 by Chief

Justice J Chelamswar and Justice Hrishikesh Roy. The Court observed that (i)t may notbe necessary for us to go into the factual details of the present petition as the prayer is too

clear. In substance the petitioners seek the implantation of the judgment of the Supreme

Court.

It is a constitutional mandate under Article 142 that any decree passed by the Supreme

Court or order made by the Supreme Court shall be enforced through out the territory of

India. If the petitioners for any reasons believe that the judgment of the Supreme Court isnot being implemented in the state of Assam, in our considered view, the remedy is not to

seek a further writ for implementation of the directions of Supreme Court in this court.

The BHRPC has decided to move a contempt petition in the Supreme Court.

See: http://rightspeaks.blogspot.com/

http://bhrpc.net.googlepages.com/BHRPCV.StateofAssamOrder.pdfhttp://rightspeaks.blogspot.com/http://rightspeaks.blogspot.com/http://bhrpc.net.googlepages.com/BHRPCV.StateofAssamOrder.pdf