Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The High Court’s principal bench in Jabalpur has instructed the School Education Department to treat candidates with 45% marks as having obtained second division (Div-II) for high school teacher recruitment.
This decision follows a case where the department appointed candidates with 45.1% marks, but refused to appoint those with 49.6%, citing a third division (Div-III) on their marksheets. The petitioner, who holds a master’s degree in Hindi with 47% marks from Rani Durgavati Vishwavidyalaya, Jabalpur, was not appointed as a teacher despite meeting qualifications.
The issue arose due to the university’s marksheet labelling the petitioner as Div-III, while the department appointed over 700 candidates with 45% marks listed as Div-II. The division bench, consisting of Justice Vivek Agarwal and Justice Anuradha Shukla, passed an interim order, stating that candidates with more than 45% marks will be considered Div-II, while those with less will be classified as Div-III.
Moreover, the eligibility criteria for high school teachers require a BEd with a second division in the relevant subject, and there is no provision for a 5% relaxation for reserved categories, unlike secondary and primary teacher recruitments. Senior Advocate Rameshwar Thakur said that a notice has been issued to the School Education Department, Tribal Affairs Department, and DPI Commissioner, seeking their reply regarding the relaxation for reserved categories. The next hearing for the petition is set for February 24.
