‘Let them resign’: Supreme Court dismisses plea against competency test for teachers in Bihar

The Supreme Court remarked that teachers help build the nation and should be open to upgrading their skills or willing to quit.

Teachers help build the nation and should be open to upgrading their skills or willing to quit, said the Supreme Court on Thursday refusing to entertain a petition by local body teachers in Bihar opposing a competency test prescribed by the state for improving quality of education in rural schools.

A vacation bench of justices BV Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan said, “We are interested in the education of children in the country, particularly in the state of Bihar. If any teacher does not want to comply with this rule, let them resign. But If they wish to serve the students, let them take the competency examination.”

The court was hearing a petition filed by two groups of teachers employed in Panchayat-run schools in the state who challenged the Bihar School Exclusive Teachers Rules, 2023 requiring them to take the competency exam. The state claimed that the test was optional and those who do not take it would not be removed but that teachers who qualified would be put at par with the state government teachers. The petitioners lost their challenge to the 2023 rule before the Patna high court and approached the top court against the April 2, 2024 judgment of that court.

Dismissing the petitions filed by the teachers, the bench said, “Teachers are people who build the nation. In a state like Bihar, if government is making an effort to improve teachers, you are not allowing it. If you cannot face these tests, then leave.”

The teachers through their lawyers informed the court that these teachers, known as Niyojit teachers had proved their competence by taking a competency examination at the time when their services were regulated by the Bihar Panchayat Teachers Rules, 2012. These teachers were originally appointed under the Bihar Panchayat Primary Teacher (Appointment and Service Conditions) Rules, 2006. Some of them were Shiksha Mitras appointed prior to 2006 who were absorbed as Niyojit teachers under the Primary Teachers Rules 2006.

The Patna high court while upholding the 2023 rule had said that this was a good opportunity for the Niyojit teachers to get parity with existing state government teachers . The HC held that the test has been introduced “with the avowed objective of motivating the teachers to continue educating themselves and achieve a standard equivalent to that of the newly recruited teachers under the State School Teachers Rules 2023.”

Before the HC, the state government argued that the change in policy was necessary to ensure quality of teaching and through it, substantially improve the quality of education in the state. In achieving this, the present policy also ensured that the livelihood of teachers is protected, the state added.

The top court agreed with the finding of the HC and said, “The whole object of these rules is to update teachers. We know these teachers get a high salary and we know what happens, they remain stagnant. Any rule by state which says we have to upgrade the skill of teachers is good.”

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