SC upholds UP’s decision to raise cut-off marks for Shiksha Mitras

The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld the Uttar Pradesh government’s decision to increase cut-off marks for the 2019 recruitment of 69,000 assistant teachers to 65 and 60 for the general and reserved categories, respectively, even on Shiksha Mitras.

The apex court dismissed the appeal filed by Ram Sharan Maurya and others against the Allahabad High Court order, which cleared the path of recruitment of assistant teachers in Uttar Pradesh Board of Basic Education schools.

The SC also gave the green signal to the UP government to fill the 37,000 Shiksha Mitra vacancies in terms of the results of the recruitment exam announced in May 2020.

The court, however, held that aggrieved Shiksha Mitras would be given another opportunity by allowing them to compete in the next recruitment examination, which in turn means that even those Shikha Mitras who did not appear this time can qualify the TET exam and appear in the next selection process.

Speaking to The Daily Guardian, Rakesh Mishra, standing counsel for the UP Board of Basic Education, said, “This judgment is in consonance with Anand Kumar Yadav’s judgement, passed by the Hon’ble Supreme Court, wherein it was held that regularisation of contractual Shiksha Mitras as assistant teachers is violative of Article 14 and 16 of the Constitution and Shiksha Mitras have to compete in open recruitment process, along with other candidates for being appointed as assistant teachers.”

“In the Anand Kumar Yadav case, the top court had emphasised that in all cases regarding the appointment of teachers, the rights of children as guaranteed under Article 21A of the Constitution, is paramount and merit cannot be compromised. The present judgment has kept intact this valuable right of children to have meritorious and qualified teachers,” he added.

“The present judgement is also a great relief to such Shiksha Mitras who have not yet qualified TET, as they have been granted one more opportunity to participate in the next recruitment process,” he said further.

Petitioners before the top court contended that the fixing of high qualifying marks is arbitrary as opposed to the earlier benchmark of 45 marks and 40 percent, which was fixed for Assistant Teachers Recruitment Examination, 2018.

Petitioners claimed that they cannot be discriminated from those Shiksha Mitras who had appeared in the last selection process for 68,500 posts, wherein the cut off was 40/45 percent against the present high cut-offs to the tune of 65 marks and 60 percent marks.

The Supreme Court’s order, dated 25 July 2017, in the Anand Kumar Yadav case had accorded the benefit of age relaxation and weightage to be given to Shiksha Mitras. The same has been cited by petitioners, claiming that qualifying marks, once fixed as 40 and 45 in ATRE 2018, can’t be arbitrarily increased to 60 and 65.