WBSSC: The Supreme Court upheld the decision of Rajasthan High Court B.Ed. (Bachelor of Education) degree holders are ineligible for the post of primary school teachers. A bench of Justice Aniruddha Bose and Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia opined that right to education needs to be guaranteed under Article 21A of the Constitution of India as well as the Right to Education Act, 2009. The fundamental right to primary education includes not only 'free' and 'compulsory' education. Also includes proper 'quality' education of children below 14 years of age. According to the Supreme Court, B.Ed. Degree holders have not acquired the basic educational qualification required to teach primary classes. They will not provide 'quality' education to primary school children.
Earlier, the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) in a notification B.Ed. Degree holders declared eligible for appointment to the post of Primary School Teachers (Grades I to V). Nevertheless, Rajasthan Board of Secondary Education issued an advertisement for Rajasthan Teacher Eligibility Test (RTET) which excluded B.Ed.
This move by the Rajasthan government was challenged in the Rajasthan High Court. The High Court quashed the NCTE notification and B.Ed. Candidates for the post of primary school teachers are said to be ineligible. Then the Supreme Court battle began. The Supreme Court in its judgment noted that 'free' and 'compulsory' primary education is of no use if it is not 'meaningful' education. "In other words, primary education must be of good 'quality', and not just a ritual or formality!"
Right to Education Act
Highlighting the purpose of Article 21A of the Constitution and the Right to Education Act, the court added that the Act even prescribes certain norms and standards to be followed in primary schools for the purpose of imparting a meaningful and 'quality' education.
D.EL.Ed. Degree holders are trained to manage students at elementary level. The Apex Court emphasized that as per NCET, the qualification prescribed for a teacher in primary school was Diploma in Elementary Education (D.El.Ed.), and not any other educational qualification including B.Ed. It stated that a job seeker with a D.EL.ED, was trained to handle elementary students, as they had gone through an educational course specifically designed for that purpose.
But a person who B.Ed. He has undergone qualification training for teaching secondary and higher secondary level students, primary level students have not been trained. On all counts, the Supreme Court dismissed the NCTE's notification disqualifying BEDs as primary teachers.
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