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Supreme Court Takes Up Plea for Private Teachers’ Welfare
The Supreme Court has agreed to consider a request about the future welfare of private school teachers.
The request was filed by Ligimol George from Kerala.
It asks the government to create one national set of protections for these teachers.
These protections could include pensions, provident funds and gratuity.
It also asks for help for teachers after they retire.
The petition says rules and benefits are different in different states and schools.
It proposes creating a national welfare board to coordinate these protections.
The court has asked the Centre, states, Union Territories and a teacher-education body to respond.
The court will consider the petition after four weeks.
The Supreme Court issued notice on a petition seeking a national welfare and social-security policy for private school teachers.
Petitioner Ligimol George wants statutory protection covering pensions, provident funds, gratuity and post-retirement support.
The petition also seeks a national private school teachers’ welfare board and an effective grievance-redressal mechanism.
The court notified the Centre, all states and Union Territories, and the National Council for Teacher Education.
The plea cites UDISE+ data showing 37,30,047 teachers work in recognised private unaided schools across India.
- Who
- Kerala-based petitioner Ligimol George filed the plea before a bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta.
- What
- The Supreme Court issued notice on a petition seeking a national policy and statutory framework for the welfare, social security and post-retirement protection of private school teachers.
- Where
- The petition concerns recognised private educational institutions across India and is before the Supreme Court in New Delhi.
- When
- The notice was issued on Thursday, September 10, with the petition posted for hearing after four weeks.
- Why
- The petitioner says private school teachers lack uniform statutory safeguards, pensions and other social-security protections, with benefits varying by state and institution.
Key facts
- Petitioner
- Ligimol George, a Kerala-based petitioner
- Requested policy
- A comprehensive national policy and statutory framework for private school teachers
- Proposed institution
- A national private school teachers’ welfare board or another coordinating mechanism
- Requested benefits
- Pensionary benefits, provident fund, gratuity compliance and grievance redressal
- UDISE+ school data
- Approximately 14.72 lakh schools, over 98 lakh teachers and nearly 24.8 crore students in India
- Private-school teachers
- 37,30,047 teachers are employed in recognised private unaided schools, according to the cited UDISE+ 2023–24 data
- Respondents notified
- The Centre, all states and Union Territories, and the National Council for Teacher Education
Quotes
Ligimol George’s petition
Petitioner whose Supreme Court plea seeks national welfare protections for private school teachers
“Although education has consistently been recognised as a matter of paramount national importance and forms an integral part of the welfare obligations of the State, there exists no comprehensive central legislation or uniform national policy specifically providing for the long-term welfare, social security and post-retirement protection of private school teachers throughout the country.”
thehansindia.com
“The continuing legislative and policy vacuum has resulted in arbitrary disparities between teachers performing substantially identical educational functions across different states and institutions.”
thehansindia.com
theprint.in
Sources
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