SC to decide on cut-off marks for UP teachers’ recruitment

The Supreme Court will hear a batch of petitions on Thursday against an Allahabad High Court ruling which upheld the Uttar Pradesh government’s decision to keep higher cut-off marks for recruitment of 69,000 assistant teachers for the state’s primary schools.

Justice Uday Umesh Lalit-led bench, comprising Justice Mohan M. Shantanagoudar and Justice Vineet Saran, will hear petitions against the judgement by the Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court. Petitions before the apex court contend that fixing of high-qualifying marks is arbitrary as opposed to the earlier benchmark of 45 marks and 40%, which were fixed for Assistant Teachers Recruitment Examination, 2018.

Petitioners claim objective of low teacher-student ratio will be defeated due to huge vacancies arising out of high cutoffs to the tune of 65 marks and 60%. The Supreme Court’s 25 July 2017 order in the Anand Kumar Yadav case had accorded the benefit of age relaxation and weightage to be given to Shikha Mitras.

The same has been cited by petitioners, claiming that qualifying marks once fixed as 40 and 45 in ATRE 2018 can’t be arbitrarily increased to 60 and 65. Petitioners fear immense hardship if the apex court doesn’t intervene. The Uttar Pradesh government and UP Basic Education Board have already filed caveat petitions in the top court, which means that no order can be passed against the High Court judgement without hearing the state government.