WBSSC: Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) Chairman Atul Prasad on Sunday said that the Teacher Recruitment Examination (TRE) scheduled for August 24-26 across the state and candidates should not be in any confusion due to the recent Supreme Court verdict. The court has declared BA (Bachelor of Education) degree holders ineligible for the post of primary teachers.
Atul Prasad said, “As of now, there is no reason to postpone the examination for primary teachers. The government has to take a policy decision on this and we have not received any direction so far, which means testing. Education is in the Joint List and states can make their own rules, as can the Centre. We don't know what rules the state government will make and at what stage it will go. Expectedly, there is no point in postponing the examination, as it will be unfair to the candidates applying on the basis of D.El.Ed (Diploma in Elementary Education).”
The apex court upheld the decision of the Rajasthan High Court earlier this week, which made B.Ed degree holders ineligible for appointment as primary teachers, as they did not possess the basic educational qualification required to teach primary classes.
Citing Article 21-A of the Constitution and the Right to Education Act, the Supreme Court struck down the NCTE notification. The observation states, "A good teacher is the first guarantee of good education in a school. Any compromise on the qualifications of teachers is necessarily a compromise on the 'quality' of education."
The SC's order comes just as Bihar is set to conduct exams to recruit more than 1.75 lakh teachers, including more than 85,000 primary teachers. Many candidates applying for the post of primary teachers are confused. Most of them are B.Ed job seekers and some have both B.Ed and D.El.Ed.
The BPSC chairman said whatever the government decides can be implemented even after the exam, as the screening will be done at the time of the result or before the interview. He said, “We are not verifying the documents at this stage, but will do so in any case after examination. Many candidates may have both B.Ed and D.El.Ed and apply on the basis of the latter. The selection will be made after the examination and when the merit list is prepared. There is no point in denying them the opportunity because they can show only one document while applying.”
At the same time, he said, "Whatever decision the government takes, the candidates will be informed, but at this stage they should not be under any unnecessary confusion. Exams are near and going on at this stage. There should be no undue panic. If there is a specific decision regarding the candidates of a particular category, it can be enforced even after the examination.” The Bihar government on June 30 announced the application for recruitment to more than 1.75 lakh posts in primary, secondary and higher secondary schools in the state. This recruitment exam will be conducted this month.
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