Government orders regarding teacher appointments must be interpreted liberally to reflect actual student needs, allowing for necessary increases in staff based on enrollment.

ORDER :

(R.N. MANJULA, J.)

This Writ Petition has been filed to call for the records relating to the impugned orders of the third respondent Chief Educational Officer in Na.Ka.No.12466/B2/2015 dated 30.09.2015 (as signed), Na.Ka.No.10274/B2/2016 dated 19.09.2016 and Na.Ka.No.17084/B2/2017 dated 11.10.2017 and quash the same and further direct the third respondent Chief Educational Officer to approve forthwith the appointment of the third physical education teacher Mr.S.Sarath Babu in petitioner's St. Paul's Higher Secondary School, Salem -7, with effect from the date of his appointment viz., 03.06.2015 and release salary and other benefits with effect from the date of his appointment.

2. Heard Mr.Godson Swaminathan, learned counsel for the petitioner, Mrs.P.Rajarajeswari, learned Government Advocate for the respondents and perused the materials available on record.

3. The petitioner School is administered by the Salem Diocese Society and it is an aided minority educational institution. The School has been established in the year 1939 and it has been upgraded as High School in the year 1965 and thereafter, Higher Secondary School in the year 1978. The strength of students in the High School (6th to 10th ) and Higher Secondary School (11th & 12th) is totally 2266. The School is entitled to have 6 posts of Physical Education Teacher as per G.O.Ms.No.525 , School Education (D1) Department, dated 29.12.1997. But the respondent Department had re-fixed the staff strength by reducing 6 physical education teacher to 2. Even according to the Government Order in G.O.Ms.No.525 dated 29.12.1997 for schools which have more than 250 students in High School, for every additional strength of 300, one post of physical education teacher shall be sanctioned subject to the maximum of 3. The petitioner School has already got two physical education teachers. The strength of high school students are 1718. The above facts were not denied by the respondents.

4. The learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that even for those schools which exceed the strength of 250, for every additional strength of 300, they are entitled to have 3 physical education teachers and the petitioner school despite having 1718 students at the high school level, the third respondent has denied approval to the third physical education teacher post.

5. The Government Order has been given with different interpretation by the learned Government Advocate for the respondents stating that the maximum strength of 3 cannot be exceeded and the petitioner School has got already 3 postings and hence, the Government has rejected to grant approval. It is submitted that out of the four teachers, 3 physical education teachers are in pursuant to the above Government Order and 1 post have been upgraded as physical education director and hence, the petitioner's entitlement for 3 posts have already been exhausted.

6. It is learnt that the petitioner School has already got physical education director even before coming into effect of the Government Order in G.O.Ms.No.525 , dated 29.12.1997. In fact, the petitioner School has got 6 posts of physical education teachers along with 1 physical education director. The above Government Order can be understood in such a manner that the upgradation of physical education director is to be done only to those Schools which do not have physical education director. In such Schools, one of the existing physical education teacher can be upgraded as physical education director. Even if the existing teacher is upgraded as physical education director, that cannot be presumed to be equivalent to physical education teachers' strength which has been prescribed in accordance with the ratio of the strength of the students.

7. In the instant case, the petitioner School has got 1718 students and which has already got physical education teachers and the said post is a sanctioned post as it appears from the staff fixation list. The Government Order only states that in the high s