Delhi High Court: Minority schools have right to appoint teachers
The Court ruled in a case involving Tamil schools in the capital, forced to operate with 30 per cent of posts vacant. “The State can regulate the proper utilisation of aid,” the ruling said, but “It cannot subjugate the minority educational institution to its dictates”. For Archbishop Elias Gonsalves, “bureaucrats and education officials have tried to downplay” minority rights. Now things can only get better for the kids.
Delhi (AsiaNews) – The Delhi High Court has ruled that “No prior permission or approval of the DoE is required” for minority educational establishments to appoint their staff. The DoE, the Directorate of Education, can only prescribe the qualifications and experience for the posts of principal and teacher.
The case was brought by Delhi Tamil Education Association (DTEA), which runs seven schools with 6,879 students, with subsidies from the state, in India’s National Capital Territory.
The DTEA complained that four headmaster posts and 108 teaching positions (out of a total of 374) were vacant. Now, it can hire principals and teachers without the prior approval of the DoE.
Established in 1923, the DTEA seeks to promote and spread Tamil language and culture.
Lawyer Romy Chacko, who represents the DTEA, said that, despite many requests and clarifications provided, the association had not been granted permission to fill the vacancies.
The quality of education in DTEA schools today is seriously compromised due to the shortage of principals and teachers. “Nearly 30 per cent of the sanctioned posts of teachers are lying vacant,” he said.
In its 79-page ruling, the High Court affirmed that the granting of state aid to minority institutions does not affect the DTEA’s absolute right to appoint principals, teachers, and other staff.
“The State can regulate the proper utilisation of the aid which it grants. It cannot subjugate the minority educational institution to its dictates,” the Court ruled.
"I am very glad that the Delhi High Court has once again confirmed the constitutional right of minorities,” said Archbishop Elias Gonsalves of Nagpur, president of the Commission for Education and Culture of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI).
“Minorities have been asserting their rights but bureaucrats and education officials have tried to downplay them,” he told AsiaNews. “I wish all the best to all our educationists that they might turn the High Court order into a reality.”
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20/05/2021 14:11
