Dimapur | October 18 : Slapped with a ‘contempt of court’ lawsuit in a primary school teachers’ appointment mess, the Department of School Education has pleaded for additional time from the court to sort out the matter. As reported by The Morung Express on October 17, the lawsuit which is pending in the Kohima Bench of the Gauhati High Court was scheduled for hearing on October 17.
The litigants, who call themselves ‘Under Graduate Teachers 2003 Parents Association’ (UGT2003PA), are pitted against the department of School Education with regard to a teacher’s appointment/selection examination dating back to the year 2003. Disclosing the outcome of the court hearing of October 17, the litigants said that the department in concern has appealed for additional time (i.e. until the first week of November) to put into action an earlier order from the same court.
2003 Teachers Appointment Scandal
The department was represented by its counsel, who produced a letter containing the appeal, the litigants said. In the letter read out before the judge, the department assured to re-conduct and complete the interviews by November 1-4, 2011, they added. The court is said to have accepted the appeal, nevertheless, cautioned the defendants not to take the case lightly.
The actual vacancy for the entire state, as of 2003 stood at 791 (under-graduate primary school teaching posts). As reported by this daily earlier, the department had floated advertisement inviting applications from eligible candidates to fill the vacant posts. The written tests were conducted on September of 2003 followed by oral interviews in March 2004 at 28 centres across the state. Only the final declaration of result was awaited.
However, during this time, allegations of unfair conduct of the written tests emerged. The allegations came from candidates who had failed the written tests and who demanded for re-conduct of the interviews. The matter was taken to court. In response to the allegations, candidates (around 2500) who had cleared the written tests and had appeared the oral interviews countered by filing a case at the same court on the basis that the question of re-conducting the interviews did not arise. The latter lost the case, however.
They appealed at the Gauhati High Court in 2006, where the hearing stretched for four years. The ruling finally came in February 2010. The High Court ruled that the department in concern should re-conduct the interviews but on the condition that only those candidates who had cleared the written tests of 2003 on merit should be allowed to seat for the interviews. Irregularities were detected during the High Court hearing, wherein it was discovered that 59 candidates from three centres had passed the written tests on ‘grace mark’ and which the court ruled was unfair, a representative of UGT2003PA said. The matter did not end there, though. The 59 candidates, who were found to have managed to clear the written tests on ‘grace mark’ moved the Supreme Court.
Their case was however, dismissed by the apex court in March 2011. It was now in the hands of the department of School Education to implement the ruling of the court.
Meanwhile, earlier in January 2010, UGT2003PA had filed ‘contempt of court’ petition against the School Education Department on the ground that a ruling of the court should be put into action within a specified period of time. It was heard at the Kohima Bench of the Gauhati High Court. The verdict came in August 2011, with the judge ruling that the department in concern should execute the earlier ruling passed by the Gauhati High Court. It also specified that the interviews should be conducted and completed “definitely” by October 11-14. However, the department failed to uphold the court order within the specified time period, compelling the litigants to file a second ‘contempt of court’ petition at the same court on October 14.
Further, it was disclosed that only around 600 candidates, out of those who had sat for the written tests in 2003 were able to submit their original exam ‘admit cards’. Most had lost or misplaced the document; some went on to get other jobs while some unfortunate few had passed away, the UGT2003PA representative said.
The litigants, who call themselves ‘Under Graduate Teachers 2003 Parents Association’ (UGT2003PA), are pitted against the department of School Education with regard to a teacher’s appointment/selection examination dating back to the year 2003. Disclosing the outcome of the court hearing of October 17, the litigants said that the department in concern has appealed for additional time (i.e. until the first week of November) to put into action an earlier order from the same court.
2003 Teachers Appointment Scandal
The department was represented by its counsel, who produced a letter containing the appeal, the litigants said. In the letter read out before the judge, the department assured to re-conduct and complete the interviews by November 1-4, 2011, they added. The court is said to have accepted the appeal, nevertheless, cautioned the defendants not to take the case lightly.
The actual vacancy for the entire state, as of 2003 stood at 791 (under-graduate primary school teaching posts). As reported by this daily earlier, the department had floated advertisement inviting applications from eligible candidates to fill the vacant posts. The written tests were conducted on September of 2003 followed by oral interviews in March 2004 at 28 centres across the state. Only the final declaration of result was awaited.
However, during this time, allegations of unfair conduct of the written tests emerged. The allegations came from candidates who had failed the written tests and who demanded for re-conduct of the interviews. The matter was taken to court. In response to the allegations, candidates (around 2500) who had cleared the written tests and had appeared the oral interviews countered by filing a case at the same court on the basis that the question of re-conducting the interviews did not arise. The latter lost the case, however.
They appealed at the Gauhati High Court in 2006, where the hearing stretched for four years. The ruling finally came in February 2010. The High Court ruled that the department in concern should re-conduct the interviews but on the condition that only those candidates who had cleared the written tests of 2003 on merit should be allowed to seat for the interviews. Irregularities were detected during the High Court hearing, wherein it was discovered that 59 candidates from three centres had passed the written tests on ‘grace mark’ and which the court ruled was unfair, a representative of UGT2003PA said. The matter did not end there, though. The 59 candidates, who were found to have managed to clear the written tests on ‘grace mark’ moved the Supreme Court.
Their case was however, dismissed by the apex court in March 2011. It was now in the hands of the department of School Education to implement the ruling of the court.
Meanwhile, earlier in January 2010, UGT2003PA had filed ‘contempt of court’ petition against the School Education Department on the ground that a ruling of the court should be put into action within a specified period of time. It was heard at the Kohima Bench of the Gauhati High Court. The verdict came in August 2011, with the judge ruling that the department in concern should execute the earlier ruling passed by the Gauhati High Court. It also specified that the interviews should be conducted and completed “definitely” by October 11-14. However, the department failed to uphold the court order within the specified time period, compelling the litigants to file a second ‘contempt of court’ petition at the same court on October 14.
Further, it was disclosed that only around 600 candidates, out of those who had sat for the written tests in 2003 were able to submit their original exam ‘admit cards’. Most had lost or misplaced the document; some went on to get other jobs while some unfortunate few had passed away, the UGT2003PA representative said.
