Provincialisation of service under the Act allows for individuals to be designated as Tutors without holding a degree, requiring them to acquire necessary qualifications within five years for upgrade to Teacher status.

JUDGMENT :

Kardak Ete, J.

Heard Mr. A. K. Hussain, learned counsel for the petitioner. Also heard Ms. S. Chutia, learned Standing Counsel, Elementary Education for the respondent Nos. 1, 2 & 4; Ms. D. D. Baraman, learned Additional Senior Government Advocate for the respondent No. 3 and Mr. B. Sinha, learned counsel for the respondent No. 7.

2. Challenge made in this writ petition is to the order dated 05.02.2021 passed by the Director, Elementary Education, Assam, whereby the service of Zahidul Islam, the respondent No. 7 herein, has been provincialised as Tutor (Science) in Kochua Gaon M.E. Madrassa.

3. The case of the petitioner, in brief, is that he was appointed as a Graduate Science Teacher in Kochua Gaon M.E. Madrassa on 11.02.2008 by the School Managing Committee and he joined his service on 12.02.2008. The petitioner is a Science Graduate and holds a Diploma in Elementary Education, which are the requisite educational and professional qualifications for a Science Graduate Teacher with a regular pay scale. Upon such appointment, the petitioner claims to have been teaching Science and Mathematics and his name appeared in U-DISE as a Science Graduate Teacher.

4. The respondent No. 7 was appointed as an Assistant Teacher in the said school by the School Managing Committee on 12.06.1992 and possesses the qualification of HSLC (Science).

5. In terms of the provisions of the Assam Education (Provincialisation of Services of Teachers and Re-organization of Educational Institutions) Act, 2017 (herein after referred to as “the Act of 2017”), a list of 5 (five) teachers of the said school, including the petitioner and the respondent No. 7, was submitted to the District Scrutiny Committee (DSC) for provincialisation of services. The name of the respondent No. 7 was shown as Assistant Teacher (Science), whereas the name of the petitioner was shown as Assistant Teacher (Science & Mathematics). The respondent authorities have provincialised the services of the teachers in terms of the recommendations of the DSC and the State Level Scrutiny Committee (SLSC) and the services of the respondent No. 7 have been provincialised as Tutor (Science) vide order dated 05.02.2021.

6. It is the case of the petitioner that the provincialisation of the service of the respondent No. 7 as Tutor (Science) is in violation of the provision of Section 3(1)(xi) of the Act of 2017, as the respondent No. 7 does not have the educational and professional qualification to be appointed as a Teacher, being only educational qualification of HSLC (Science), whereas the petitioner is a Science Graduate having a Diploma in Elementary Education and is eligible and qualified to be appointed as a Teacher.

7. Mr. Hussain, learned counsel for the petitioner, submits that the provincialisation of the services of respondent No. 7 has been carried out merely to accommodate him, despite his lacking the requisite educational and professional qualifications prescribed under the provisions of the Act of 2017 and that too at the behest of respondent No. 5. He submits that respondent No. 7 has never taught the subjects of Science and Mathematics. Therefore, the provincialisation of the services of respondent No. 7 is dehors the Act of 2017, which is illegal, and as such, the same is liable to be set aside and quashed and a direction may be issued to the respondent authorities to provincialise the service of the petitioner.

8. Ms. S. Chutia, learned Standing Counsel for the Elementary Education Department, submits that the petitioner is a Science Graduate with a Diploma in Elementary Education and was appointed by the School Managing Comm