States free to frame rules for appointing teachers, says SC

NEW DELHI: States are free to frame their own laws for appointment of teachers and the qualifications prescribed by the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) cannot have precedence over them, the Supreme Court has said.
    
The apex court also asserted that a state government is free to recognise or de-recognise any educational course and courts would not interfere with such decisions unless these violate any statutory or constitutional provision.
    
A bench of Justices H K Sema and Markandeya Katju said the NCTE deals only with teachers training institutes in the country, but cannot have a say in the appointment of teachers made by respective state governments under local rules.
    
The bench passed the ruling while dismissing the appeal of a teacher who lost his job after the Uttar Pradesh Government de-recognised certain teachers training courses in the state.
    
On August 11, 1987, the UP government issued a circular recognising only certain teachers training courses like Basic Teachers Certificate (BTC), Hindustani Teachers Certificate (HTC), Junior Teachers Certificate (JTC) and Certificate of Teaching (CT), among others.
    
In this case, Upendra Rai and a few others, who graduated from other institutes said to be recognised by the NCTE lost their jobs as their courses were not recognised in the state of UP.