KASHMIR NEWS OBSERVER
According to a detailed order issued by the School Education Department, in pursuance of the Apex Court direction, the Directors of School Education Department Jammu/Kashmir and all the Chief Education Officers have been asked to ensure strict compliance of these instructions in their respective jurisdiction.
Following the disposal of SLP (Civil) No: 16885/2012 (CC 9115/2012) by the Supreme Court, the Jammu and Kashmir Government today ordered that no teaching faculty of the School Education Department shall take up any activity/assignment including teaching in a private institution or coaching centre.
According to a detailed order issued by the School Education Department, in pursuance of the Apex Court direction, the Directors of School Education Department Jammu/Kashmir and all the Chief Education Officers have been asked to ensure strict compliance of these instructions in their respective jurisdiction.
It is pertinent to mention that the State Government had through a Circular bearing No: Edu/PS/C/S/11/05 dated: 11-08-2005 directed that no official shall undertake any activity/assignment including teaching in a private institution or coaching centre unless permission is obtained from the competent authority and that no such permission shall be available two hours before the opening of the school and two after the school gets closed.
The said Circular was challenged in the Jammu and Kashmir High Court by Vichar Kranti Manch through Writ Petition No: 6/2011. The Writ Petition was disposed off by the High Court vide its judgment dated 18-11-2011, with following direction;
“With the above said directions, the Writ Petition stands disposed of by setting aside the part of the instructions contained in Circular No: Edu/PS/C/S/11/05 dated: 11-08-2005 granting general permission/authority to the officials of the Education Department and Medical Education Department to grant permission to all the teachers and doctors respectively to engage themselves by way of self-employment in private coaching centres two hours before the opening of the school and two hours after the closing of the school and private practice by the doctors, with other directions stated therein.”
In compliance to the directions of the High Court, the School Education Department had vide Circular dated: 15-06-2012 rescinded part of the Circular instructions dated: 18-08-2005, pertaining to accord of general permission to the teachers to engage themselves by way of self employment in private coaching centres two hours before the opening of the schools and two hours after the closing of the schools.
The State Government had, however, filed SLP No: 16885/2012 (CC 9115/2012) in the Supreme Court against the judgment of the State High Court dated: 18-11-2011. The Supreme Court in its interim order had passed the following direction;
“In the meantime, the operation of the impugned judgment shall remain stayed”
The Apex Court has now disposed of the SLP No: 16885/2012 (CC 9115/2012) and observed as under;
“During the course of the hearing, learned Counsel appearing on behalf of the State is not aggrieved by the directions of the High Court in their application to the teachers, in so far as the Circular dated 11-08-2005 was set aside. The circular, it has been submitted, was issued by the Education Department and specifically dealt with the issue of whether official engaged in schools could be permitted to take up private assignments. However, the grievance is that the directions issued by the High Court which have been extracted above, proceeded on the basis that the circular also regulated government medical doctors engaging in self-employment or other activities. It was urged that the rules governing private practice by the government doctors were not placed before the court. Hence, without considering those rules, the High Court has issued a blanket direction erroneously on the basis that the Circular of 11-08-2005 also covered the services of medical doctors.”
The order issued by the Government today in pursuance to the Supreme Court direction states that in view of the directions passed by the Apex Court, the judgment passed by the Division Bench of the High Court on 18-11-2011 in PIL No: 06/2011 has been upheld to the extent of quashing general permission/authority to the teachers of Education Department to engage themselves by way of self-employment or in the form of accepting part-time employment in private coaching centres.
“Now, therefore it is hereby directed that no teaching faculty of the School Education Department shall take up any activity/assignment including teaching in private institution or coaching centre,” said the order issued by the School Education Department today.