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Tripura's alternative appointment to terminated teachers not derogatory: SC

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday green-lighted the Tripura government ’s proposal to absorb over 10,000 terminated postgraduate, graduate and undergraduate teachers as peons, night guards, gardeners, cooks and lower division clerks.

The Tripura government had recruited 1,035 PGTs, 4,666 TGTs and 4,612 UGTs in 2010 and 2014 through oral interview under the Revised Employment Policy , 2003.

The high court on May 7, 2014, set aside the 2003 policy and quashed the appointments. The SC on March 29, 2017, upheld the HC order, directed framing of a new policy and recruitment thereunder by December 31, 2017. Citing over 15,000 vacancies in teachers’ posts in the state, these teachers made a second attempt in the SC to get reinstated. But a bench of Justice U U Lalit and Vineet Saran refused.

However, it saw nothing wrong in the Tripura government’s proposal, placed before the court by senior advocate Maninder Singh, seeking to give them alternative appointment in Group C and D category government jobs. The state also informed the court that those eligible among the terminated teachers could compete in the fresh selection process and they had been given age relaxation till March 31, 2023.

The bench said, “It must be noted that the attempt on part of the state in offering certain alternative employment is not to degrade the teachers but some solace is being offered even in cases where the candidates do not succeed in selection to the posts of teachers.”

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