Point of Law : Recruitment & Promotions Rules of DPE’s getting pay scale of Lecturers are required to be framed as per qualifications prescribed by the NCERT Guidelines, which also provide qualifications for the category of Lecturers in other subjects.

JUDGMENT :

Sandeep Sharma, J.

Himachal Pradesh School DPEs Sangh, through its President Lalit Chauhan approached the erstwhile H.P. State Administrative Tribunal by filing an O.A. No. 6396 of 2017, which now on account of abolition of the Tribunal, stands transferred to this Court and re-registered as CWPOA No. 3157 of 2019, praying therein for the following reliefs:

“i) That the directions may very kindly be issued to the respondents to frame the Recruitment and Promotion Rules after designating the applicants (DEE’s) as Lecturer/PGT Physical Education and further directions may very kindly be issued to the respondents to grant seniority to the members of the applicant’s association as lecturer/PGT with effect from 2001, since when they have been performing the teaching duties at par with lecturers in the schools of State of Himachal Pradesh in the interest of law and justice.

ii) That directions may very kindly be issued to the respondents to adopt the Punjab Pattern with respect to the teachers of Physical Education and which has so been proposed by respondent No.3 as well, means a three tier structure be formed in the State of Himachal Pradesh in the interest of law and justice.”

2. The facts, as emerge from the records are that the members of the aforesaid petitioner Sangh, who are working as DPEs in Senior Secondary Schools across the State are providing physical education to the students of Classes 10+1 and 10+2. In the year 2000, the Director Education vide communication, Annexure A-2, directed all the Principals of Government Senior Secondary Schools to adopt new scheme of curriculum/studies for Class 9th to Class 12th and as per scheme of curriculum two additional subjects came to be introduced i.e. Information Technology and Physical Education. Physical Education came to be introduced, as above, to the students of 10+1 and 10+2 Classes. After introduction of new scheme of curriculum, as detailed above, DPEs working in Senior Secondary Schools started teaching the students of 10+1 and 10+2 Classes in various Senior Secondary Schools but since they were not being paid pay scale of Lecturers, who were already teaching Classes 10th and 10+1, in Senior Secondary Schools, they approached this Court by way of CWP No. 2114 of 2008, titled as Mukesh Manhas & others vs. State of H.P. & another, seeking therein directions to the respondents to give them pay scale of Lecturers i.e. 6400-10600/-. In the aforesaid petition, DPEs claimed that since they are also taking classes of 10th and 10+1, as are being taken by Lecturers of other subjects, they are also entitled to pay scale of Lecturers. A Coordinate Bench of this Court having taken note of notification dated 3.9.2001, issued by the National Council for Teacher Education (Determination of Minimum Qualifications for Recruitment of Teachers in Schools), Regulations, 2001, found all DPEs working the Senior Secondary Schools, entitled to the pay scale of Lecturers, as was being given to their counter parts i.e. Lecturers, teaching other subjects.

2. Vide judgment dated 3.11.2010, Coordinate Bench of this Court directed the respondents to grant pay scale of School Lecturers, to those Physical Education Teachers, who possess the minimum educational qualifications laid down by the NCTE and are teaching plus one and plus two classes in Senior Secondary Schools of the State. Apart from this, the Coordinate Bench of this Court also directed the respondents to grant pay scale of Lecturer to all the eligible teachers whether they were petitioners of the case or not w.ef. 1.6.2008.

3. Being aggrieved and dissatisfied with the aforesaid judgment, passed by learned Single Judge of this Court, respondent-State preferred LPA No. 380 of 2011, however, the same was dismissed vide judgment dated 20.9.2019. After passing of the aforesaid judgment in LPA, the Department of Education sought opinion from the Law Department with regard to implementation of the judgment, passed by learned Single Judge. The