Judgment

CHINNAPPA REDDY, J.:- It appears, since 1982, there has been a rush of unauthorised educational institutions in Andhra Pradesh. The particular institutions are Teacher Training Institutes. These institutions are meant to train teachers. They are run by private managements. Prior to 1969, there were State managed Basic Training. Institutions in the State of Andhra Pradesh. As a result of the large surplus of teachers produced by these institutions and the consequent unemployment, it was decided by the Government to close down the Basic Training Institutions. However, in 1975, the syllabus for the Teacher Training Course was revised and eleven Teacher Training Institutes with an intake-capacity of 150 students were started in districts where there was demand for teachers. G. O. M. S. No. 169 Education dated February 19, 1975 elaborated the scheme and also provided for permission to be granted by the Government to private managements to establish Teacher Training Institutes. Various conditions were stipulated by the G. O. for the grant of permission by the Government. It appears that in 1978-79 a society by name Vivekananda Educational Society, Shadnagar applied to the Director of School Education to permit them to open a Teacher Training Institute. But without awaiting the grant of permission they admitted students. The Government decided not to grant permission to the society to establish the institutions as the conditions stipulated by G. O. No. 169 were not fulfilled. However, taking note of the circumstance that students had already been admitted by the Institute, the Government allowed those students to appear at the examination but directed that the Institute should not run thereafter. Encouraged by the sympathetic attitude taken by the Government in permitting the students of an unauthorised institution to appear at the Government examination, a few other private managements started unauthorised institutions. The unauthorised institutions had no facilities to train teachers in the manner prescribed by G. O. M. S. No. 169 Education. They had not the financial wherewithal, the necessary qualified staff, Library, Laboratory and other equipment. They had no model schools for their pupils to practise teaching. In the circumstances the Government was forced to enunciate a policy decision not to permit any privately managed Teacher Training Institutes. In order to prevent unwary individuals from being trapped into joining unauthorised Institutes, the Government issued press notes from time to time warning the public that candidates seeking admission into privately managed unauthorised Teacher Training Institutes would be doing so at their own risk. In some of the press notes the names of some of such unauthorised Institutes were also mentioned. We may mention here that all the petitioners are such unauthorised privately managed Teacher Training Institutes established despite the warning issued by the Government from time to time and in defiance of G. O. M. S. No. 169 dated February 19, 1975 and the provisions of the Andhra Pradesh Education Act, 1982 to which we shall refer presently. These petitioners initially filed writ petitions in the High Court questioning the policy decision of the Government and seeking directions to the Government to grant permission to them to run their Institutes during the year 1983-84 and the following years. The High Court of Andhra Pradesh allowed the writ petitions to the limited extent of issuing directions to the Government to consider the applications of the several petitioners. When. the Government took up the matters for consideration, it was found that while some of the petitioners had submitted applications, quite a few of them had never even cared to submit applications. Even so the Government obtained reports from the Education Officers, and on the basis of the information so obtained they declined to grant permission to the petitioners. Thereupon some of the present petitioners