Tribune News Service
chandigarh, November 1
The state has told the Punjab and Haryana High Court that the selection of ETT teachers will not be finalised at least till November 11 — the next date of hearing in the case. The state of Punjab also told the High Court appointment letters would not be issued till then.
The counsel for the state, on instructions from Assistant Director, Education Recruitment Directorate, Department of School Education, Harpreet Singh, also assured the Bench only scrutiny process would be carried out. “Accordingly, the state is bound down by the assurance,” the Bench of Justice GS Sandhawalia and Justice Pankaj Jain asserted.
As many as 6,635 posts of ETT teacher were to be filled. The matter was brought to the High Court’s notice after a petition was filed against the state and other respondents by Harwinder Singh and other applicants through senior advocate Gurminder Singh with counsel Vikas Chatrath and Jatinder Singh Gill. They were seeking stay on the selection and appointment process pursuant to an advertisement dated July 30.
The counsel contended pursuant to the examination held for the posts of ETT teachers on October 16, the state had vide public notice dated October 25 asked
the candidates to prepare papers for scrutiny.
The Bench was told BEd candidates had filed the writ petition challenging the Punjab State Elementary Education (Teaching Cadre) Group-C Service (First Amendment) Rules, 2021, along with an advertisement dated July 30 being in contravention of the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) notification dated June 28, 2018, issued under Section 23(1) of Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009.
As per the plea, persons having graduated with 50 per cent marks and Bachelor of Education were made eligible for the post. However, the state in complete derogation of the NCTE regulations, amended the 2018 rules vide impugned amendment and deleted the words “qualification as per guidelines of the National Council for Teacher Education and made the BEd qualification holder ineligible for the
post of ETT”.
Won’t finalise ETT selection till Nov 11, Punjab tells HC
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