The court affirmed that teachers with an 18 months D.El.Ed. qualification from NIOS are eligible for recruitment, clarifying their status under the One Time Scheme for employment opportunities.

JUDGMENT

B.R. GAVAI, J.

IA No. 37419 of 2025 in T.P.(C) NOS. 42-43 OF 2025

1. By way of this application, the applicants have approached this Court for a direction on the respondent to permit the applicants who are holding the 18 months D.El.Ed. qualification from the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) under the Open and Distance Learning (ODL) mode to participate in the ongoing counselling process and to subsequently be appointed to the vacant posts in the ongoing recruitment.

2. The case has a chequered history.

3. In 2017, an amendment had been carried out to the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 (hereinafter referred to as “RTE Act”) vide which clause (2) was inserted in Section 23 of the said Act. The Right to Free and Compulsory Education (Amendment) Act, 2017 was made retrospectively applicable from 31st March 2015. It was provided that every teacher who had been appointed or was in service as on 31st March 2015 but did not possess the minimum qualifications of two years as laid down under sub- section (1) of Section 23 would acquire such minimum qualifications within a period of four years from the date of commencement of the Amendment Act, 2017.

4. In view of the provisions of the second proviso to sub- section (2) of Section 23 of the RTE Act, Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) had issued a letter on 3rd August 2017 to all the Secretaries of States and Union Territories directing that all the teachers in Government Schools must possess minimum qualifications as mandated under the RTE Act and a last chance was being given to all such teachers to acquire minimum qualifications till 31st March 2019. Failure to acquire the said qualification within the stipulated period would result in dismissal from service.

5. Since the time gap between 31st March 2015 as provided in the 2017 Amendment Act and 31st March 2019 as specified in the direction issued by the MHRD was 18 months, the NCTE issued a recognition order dated 22nd September 2017 for conducting D.El.Ed. programme through ODL mode by NIOS through the SWAYAM portal of MHRD for in-service untrained teachers at elementary level working in Government, Government Unaided and Unaided Private Schools. The said recognition order also reduced duration of diploma from 2 years to 18 months.

6. Subsequently, the State of Uttarakhand issued district- wise advertisements for the post of Assistant Teachers in Primary Schools in accordance with the Uttarakhand Government Elementary Education (Teacher) Service Rules, 2012 (for short, “2012 Rules”) framed by the Government of Uttarakhand which provided that for being eligible to be appointed as teachers, it was necessary to have a diploma course of two years or equivalent.

7. Initially, on 15th January 2021, the Secretary, Government of Uttarakhand issued a letter to the Director, Elementary Education, Uttarakhand to permit such candidates who passed 18 months D.El.Ed. diploma of NIOS through ODL Mode to apply for the post of Assistant Teachers (Primary) against vacancies issued through the aforementioned district-wise advertisements. This was done in compliance with the letter dated 6th January 2021 issued by the NCTE to the Chief Secretaries to all the States and Union Territories requesting them to consider all those candidates who had completed D.El.Ed. course of NIOS through ODL Mode. However, shortly thereafter, upon realizing that the 2012 Rules did not recognize the 18 months D.El.Ed. diploma through ODL Mode from NIOS as a minimum qualification for eligibility, the Government of Uttarakhand issued another communication dated 10th February 2021 whereby its earlier letter dated 15th January 2021 was withdrawn.

8. The aforesaid communication dated 10th February 2021 was challenged in a bunch of writ petitions before the High Court of Uttarakhand at Nainital. On 14th September 2022, the High Court held that the 18 months D.El.Ed. training/diploma conducted through the ODL Mode by NIOS cannot b