The Supreme Court has upheld the Chhattisgarh High Court’s ruling that invalidated the appointment of B.Ed. degree holders as primary school teachers, emphasizing that the essential qualification for such roles remains a Diploma in Elementary Education (D.El.Ed).
This judgment stems from a series of petitions challenging a previous ruling from the Rajasthan High Court, which asserted that the D.El.Ed qualification is necessary for primary school teachers, not a B.Ed. degree. The case questioned a 2018 notification from the National Council for Teachers Education (NCTE) that had deemed B.Ed. candidates eligible for these roles.
The Supreme Court had already affirmed the Rajasthan High Court’s stance in the Devesh Sharma v. Union of India case, rejecting the NCTE notification and stressing that B.Ed. graduates do not meet the basic pedagogical standards required for educating young children.
In its April 2024 clarification, the Court protected the positions of teachers hired before the Devesh Sharma ruling, but stated that any judgment on this matter would be applied prospectively.
Despite this, more petitions followed, including one from B.Ed. candidates challenging the Chhattisgarh High Court’s decision, which had disqualified them based on the earlier ruling. The B.Ed. candidates argued that the 2019 Chhattisgarh School Education Services rules included B.Ed. as a valid qualification for elementary school teachers. However, since the appointments in question occurred after the Devesh Sharma judgment, they were deemed invalid.
In its final ruling, the Supreme Court dismissed the arguments that Devesh Sharma left any room for B.Ed. candidates, making it clear that the diploma remains the required qualification. The Court stated that while B.Ed. was once recognized by the NCTE, this recognition ceased with the Devesh Sharma judgment, and subsequent Chhattisgarh recruitment rules could not contradict this decision.
The Court further noted that the NCTE had formally communicated the Devesh Sharma ruling to all states in September 2023, rendering any appointments made under the now-invalid B.Ed. qualification illegal. As a result, B.Ed. candidates hired after this ruling are ineligible for primary school teaching positions.
