IMPORTANT POINT
The judgment established that the Nursery Training Certificate is not equivalent to the required qualifications for the appointment of Assistant Teachers, as per the NCTE notifications.

JUDGMENT :

1. Petitioners before this Court have passed Certificate in Nursery Training Examination-2013 (for short “Nursery Training Certificate”) conducted by Examination Regulatory Authority, Uttar Pradesh (for short “Authority”) and their respective certificates are part of record.

2. Petitioners have also passed Uttar Pradesh Teachers Eligibility Test, 2013 (for short “TET”) and thereafter participated in counselling for appointment of Assistant Teachers but they were not appointed purportedly on a ground that they have not possessed essential qualification in terms of notification/ advertisement dated 17.10.2013 i.e. they have not qualified 2 years BTC Course/2 years Urdu BTC Course or Special BTC Course and that “Nursery Training Certificate” would not be equivalent to said essential qualification. For reference, Vigyapti/ Advertisement for district Barabanki dated 17.10.2013 is mentioned below :-

3. Essentially, case of the petitioners is that Nursery Training Certificate is equivalent to Diploma in Elementary Education (by whatsoever name known) in terms of notification dated 23.08.2010 issued by National Council for Teachers Education (fort short “NCTE”) as such it would be equivalent to BTC Course.

4. It is further case of the petitioners that after enforcement of Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 (for short “Act of 2009”) and thereafter enforcement of Uttar Pradesh Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Rules, 2011 (for short “Rules of 2011”), and whereby subsequent to notification issued by NCTE (competent authority) which provided minimum qualification for appointment of Assistant Teacher in primary school and promotion of Assistant Teacher in State of UP have to be in terms of Notification dated 23.08.2010 and amended Notification dated 29.07.2011 issued by NCTE.

5. Sri Ashok Khare, Senior Advocate assisted by S/Sri Himanshu Singh, Prabhakar Awasthi and Ajay Kumar Mishra, learned counsel for the petitioners has vehemently referred and placed reliance upon notification dated 23.08.2010 issued by NCTE that minimum qualification for teachers of class I to V is Senior Secondary or its equivalent with at least 50% marks and two years Diploma in Elementary Education (by whatsoever name known) and that since the petitioners have Nursery Training Certificates which is equivalent to Diploma in Elementary Education though known by said terminology and is also equivalent to Basic Training Certificate i.e. BTC, therefore, they possessed minimum eligibility.

6. Learned Senior Advocate also urged that minimum qualification prescribed in terms of aforesaid notification dated 23.08.2010 has not been completely followed by respondents and despite petitioners were duly eligible having minimum educational qualification were wrongly denied from their appointment despite they participated in counselling and they would have definitely in merit list if their result were declared.

7. In support of his submissions, learned Senior Advocate has placed reliance upon a judgment of Division Bench of this Court in Special Appeal (D) No. 130 of 2014 (Harsh Kumar and another vs. State of U.P. and others) passed on 05.02.2014 and relevant paragraphs thereof are mentioned below :-

“8. On 23 August 2010, the NCTE prescribed the minimum qualifications for a person to be eligible for appointment as a teacher for Classes I to VIII in a school referred to in Section 2 (n) of the Act of 2009 with effect from the date of notification. This notification was amended by the notification dated 29 July 2011. As per the amended notification, the minimum qualifications which have been prescribed for appointment of an Assistant Teacher for teaching students from Classes I to V are now as follows:

“(i) Classes I-V.

(a) Senior Secondary (or its equivalent) with at least 50% marks and 2-year Diploma in Elementary Education (by what