Madhuresh Prasad, J. – Heard learned counsels for the parties.

2. The petitioners are aggrieved by the minimum qualification clause contained in the Bihar Panchayat Primary Teacher (Employment and Service Condition) Rule as also Bihar Nagar Primary Teacher (Employment and Service Condition) Rule, 2012. Their grievance is with respect to specific prescription contained in these two rules at Clause 5 (i) (kha) insofar as it declares the Teacher Eligibility Test conducted by the Central Government as also by the State Government, both to be one of the essential minimum qualifications.

3. The said requisite essential qualification has been reiterated subsequently in Clause 5 (i) (kha) of the Bihar Panchayat Elementary Education Service (Appointment, Promotion, Transfer, Disciplinary Proceedings and Conditions) Rule, 2020 and Clause 5 (i) (kha) of the Bihar Municipal Elementary School Service (Appointment, Promotion, Transfer, Disciplinary Proceeding and Service Conditions) Rules, 2020 The impugned provision in the above noted three rules are identical, and hereinafter for the sake of brevity referred to as “the impugned provision in the Rules”.

4. The impugned provision in the Rules, insofar as passing of Teacher’s Eligibility Test conducted by the Central Government, namely, Central Teacher Eligibility Test (CTET) has been held to be a valid minimum qualification, has been assailed.

5. For the sake of easy reference, Clause 5(i)(kha) in the impugned provision in the Rules is being quoted, which reads as follows:-

^^5- ¼1½¼[k½ dsUnz vFkok fcgkj jkT; ljdkj }kjk vk;ksftr ^^f'k{kd ik=rk ijh{kk** ¼VhñbZñVhñ½ esa mÙkh.kZA**

6. The petitioners seek issuance of directions to treat only the Teachers Eligibility Test (TET) conducted by the State of Bihar, exclusively to be the minimum eligibility criteria.

7. It is submitted by Mr. Rajendra Narayan, learned senior counsel for the petitioner in C.W.J.C. No. 9574 of 2020, that Section 23 of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 (hereinafter referred as “RTE”) specifies the qualification for appointment of teachers. As per Section 23 (1) of the RTE, the requirement is of possessing the minimum qualifications laid down by the Academic Authority, authorized by the Central Government by a notification. The Academic Authority has been specified as the National Council for Teacher Education (“NCTE” for brevity), vide notification dated 31.03.2010.

8. The NCTE thereafter has issued notification dated 23.08.2010 wherein one of the essential minimum qualifications is passing of TET conducted by the appropriate Government. Relevant extract of the notification dated 23.08.2010 reads as follows: –

“(b) Pass in the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) to be conducted by the appropriate Government in accordance with the Guidelines framed by the NCTE for the purpose.”

9. This requirement of passing TET to be conducted by the appropriate Government did not undergo any change in spite of notifications subsequently issued by the NCTE on 29.07.2011 and 28.06.2018

10. The term “appropriate Government” has been defined in Section 2 (a) of the RTE, which reads as follows: –

“2. Definitions. – In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires, –

(a) “appropriate Government” means –

(i) in relation to a school established, owned or controlled by the Central Government, or the administrator of the Union territory, having no Legislature, the Central Government;

(ii) in relation to a school, other than the school referred to in sub-clause (i), established within the territory of –

(A) a State, the State Government;

(B) a Union territory having Legislature, the Government of that Union territory;”

11. Guidelines as contemplated under the notification dated 23.08.2010 were subsequently issued by the NCTE under its communication dated 11.02.2011 to all the State Governments and Union Territories. These guidelines also contemplate passing of TET conducted by the appropriate Government to be one of the essential