'Education Quality Can't Be Compromised By Reservation': SC On Jharkhand Teachers Recruitment

In its recent ruling, the Supreme Court (SC) of India struck down the decision of the Jharkhand government to provide 100 per cent reservation to the tribal candidate in the state teachers recruitment. The court said that the reservation system couldn't compromise the quality of education.

The country's top court announced its decision after the tribal teachers from 13 districts filed a petition when they were suddenly removed from their post after Jharkhand high court's (HC) decision in September 2020 that struck down the state government's July 14, 2016 notification.

The state government came up with this notification in 2016, which got the permission of the governor to appoint the tribal candidates as teachers in the 13 districts of Jharkhand.

The non-tribal candidates, out of disappointment, reached the HC of Jharkhand in 2020, after which the court ordered the government to put a stay on the notification. After several events, the SC upheld the HC decision and said to give opportunities to non-tribal candidates in the state teachers' recruitment.

No Compromise With Education Quality

The bench of justices in the apex court, which announced the decision, consists of MR Shah and BV Nagarathna. The justices said that the High Court of Jharkhand in 2020 had passed the order on a petition filed by non-tribal candidates who lost the opportunity to work in tribal area government schools, reported Hindustan Times.

The bench of judges stated, "The quality of education of the school going children cannot be compromised by giving 100% reservation in favor of the teachers of the same/some districts and prohibiting the appointment to more meritorious teachers.

After the ruling, the SC asked the state government not to conduct recruitment afresh as it would require more time and use of resources. Instead, the court suggested revising the merit list based on the cut-off obtained by the candidates in the TGT (Trained Graduate Teachers) exam.

The decision impacted several candidates as the government was about to fill 8,423 posts in 13 districts of the state by the TGT exam. After the SC ruling, the non-tribal candidates took a breath of relief as now merit-based selection will be conducted.

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