A petition was heard in the High Court on Friday regarding considering the candidates who have done a six-month bridge course from the National Institute of Open Schooling as equivalent to the regular Diploma in Elementary Education (D.El.Ed.) in primary teacher recruitment. A division bench of senior judge Justice Manoj Kumar Tiwari and Justice Pankaj Purohit has asked the state government to submit its reply within three weeks. The next hearing in the case will be on November 9.
Almora resident Gopal Singh and 115 bridge course trained candidates have filed a petition in the High Court saying that they are B.Ed degree holders. Also, they have done a bridge course recognized by the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE). They have full eligibility to become primary teachers. But the government is not considering it equivalent to D.El.Ed training in the departmental government order and the notification for appointment of primary teachers. In such a situation, all trained unemployed primary teachers are being left out of the recruitment process.
The petitioners say that the teachers selected in 2016 who passed B.Ed-TET were given special in-service training from NIOS under the same rules as recognized by NCTE. In such a situation, they should also be considered equivalent to the candidates who have received departmental D.El.Ed training. The petitioners told the court that counseling has started from August 9, they should be included in it. Surendra Singh, the provincial president of the organization of bridge course trainees, says that he has done this course under the rules of NCTE. But the government and the education department are not including them in the new recruitment process. Currently, the recruitment process of about 2900 primary teachers is going on. They should also be given a chance to participate in it. The petitioners said that they had completed this course between 2017 and 2019.
