In a rare instance, the Jammu and Kashmir High Court made a teacher write a brief exam in an open court to check his abilities but the examinee failed miserably, leading to a slew of directions to the state government for checking "tuck shops" in the education sector
Srinagar: In a rare instance, the Jammu and Kashmir High Court made a teacher write a brief exam in an open court to check his abilities but the examinee failed miserably, leading to a slew of directions to the state government for checking "tuck shops" in the education sector. The direction came yesterday when Justice Muzaffar Hussain Attar was hearing a petition challenging appointment of Mohammad Imran Khan as Rehbar-e-Taleem (education guide) teacher in a school in south Kashmir.
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Pic/Shadab Khan. Picture used for representational purposes
The petitioner had alleged that Khan's certificates -- issued by Board of Higher Secondary Education Delhi and Global Open University, Nagaland were not recognised. The marks certificate issued to the respondent by the Board of Higher Secondary Education Delhi showed 74 per cent, 73 per cent and 66 per cent in Urdu, English and Maths respectively.
The court asked a senior counsel to give a simple line for translation from English into Urdu and vice-versa but the teacher failed to do it.
The teacher was then asked to write an essay on 'cow' in Urdu but he failed. He sought permission to write the essay outside the court room, which was granted but he again failed. Khan then claimed that he had better hold on Mathematics. The court asked another counsel to frame standard IV problem for the teacher to solve. And he failed again!
"In this situation, what would be the fate of the state has to be only visualised. The school going children ....would pass out as block heads," the court observed.
The court directed the government to constitute a panel which would look into degrees issued by unrecognized study centers.
The court also directed Commissioner Secretary Education to constitute a panel to ask the teachers who produce such degrees to sit in a screening test and ascertain if they are in a position to teach students.
"The ReT teachers who fail in such a screening test, their certificates would require to be seized after affording opportunity of hearing to them. The authorities shall consider termination of their services after following principles of natural justice as same will be in the larger interests of the student community and society," the court said.
Terming the study centers as 'tuck shops', the court said, "The writ petition at hand throws up most startling and classical example of sale and purchase of academic degrees, for which many tuck shops are operating in the state and responsible for relegating the student community to the dark cave of Plato".
"The authorities, responsible to ensure that the stream of academics and education is not polluted in the State of J&K, however, in view of the facts, which have surfaced in this case, have acted as soulless bodies with ray-less eyes, as they have criminally condoned and over-looked the Himalayan blunders committed in procuring the academic degrees," the court observed.
Pointing out there are allegations that without taking examinations, degree certificates were being issued, the court said, "The candidate, if selected, has to teach the students in a school and after completion of satisfactory performance as ReT, he would be absorbed as General Line Teacher in the School Education Department."
The court directed the Director, School Education Department, Kashmir, to refer the instant case to the concerned police for registration of case and initiate action against the owner of the Study Centre and the candidate and others like him.
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