SC vetos artificial breaks in tenure of teachers

The Supreme Court has said that security of tenure for a teacher, who dedicates her life to the education of students, is of utmost importance. It disapproved of the practice of introducing artificial breaks in their service tenure to deny them benefits of pension and other consequential benefits.

“Insecurity should not be created in the employment of lecturers or teachers, more so when they are through a process of subterfuge of giving artificial breaks,” a bench of Justices Kurian Joseph and Sanjay Kishan Kaul said.

“We cannot lose sight of the fact that security of tenure for a teacher, who dedicates her life for the education of the students, is of utmost importance,” the bench added.

The top court allowed an appeal filed by Ahalya A Samtaney and directed the Maharashtra government to calculate and pay all emoluments to her within three months.

One-day gap

The appellant was appointed as a full-time teacher of English in a junior college from October 1, 1976, and claimed the protection of her pay. She claimed, prior to that, she was working with a college as a tutor from December 15, 1974, but could not complete two years of continuous service, on account of the new pattern of education.

The state government, for its part, claimed her services were terminated on September 30, 1976, with her re-appointment in the junior college from October 1, 1976.

“It is really a matter of internal adjustment arising from the change in curriculum and the appellant has been in continuous service for two decades, but for this one day break,” the court said, also noting that she has been given pension entitlement for 20 years of service.