Bombay High Court pulls up State authorities for compelling English teacher to take Math classes, withholding his salary

The Bombay High Court at Aurangabad recently pulled up authorities in the Maharashtra government's Education Department for its "iniquitous" approach towards students from the tribal communities and for withholding salary of an English teacher [Babu Amrutrao Shinde vs State of Maharashtra]..The English teacher had been transferred to a Zilla Parishad school in a tribal belt and was asked to take Math classes in his new place of posting. A division bench of Justices Ravindra Ghuge and SG Dige was disturbed by the fact that an English subject teacher was compelled to teach mathematics in a Zilla Parishad school and was not paid his salary when he refused to take Math classes. The bench said it cannot tolerate such an attitude of the authorities as the petitioner Babu Shinde, was transferred from one school to the other and was asked to teach Mathematics. When he indicated to the authorities that he couldn't teach Maths since he had specialised in English, he was asked not to mark his attendance in school and as a result was not paid his salary."We are disturbed by the attitude of the Zilla Parishad. Only because there are vacancies in the schools in tribal areas, that non-subject experts, having no knowledge of particular subjects, cannot be compelled to teach an unknown subject," the bench said. Pertinently, the bench said that tribal areas should not be neglected and students in such areas should not be treated as lesser human beings. "The students in the tribal areas are not to be neglected and are to be imparted with good education. We cannot tolerate an iniquitous approach, as if the students in the tribal areas are lesser human beings," the order said. .Notably, Shinde was transferred by the Nanded Zilla Parishad education department to another Taluka on July, 3, 2021 to teach mathematics on the ground that there were several vacancies for the said subject in the tribal belt.The authorities justified their decision stating that posts of teachers cannot be kept vacant in a tribal region. It reasoned that since there were multiple vacancies for mathematics, they had appointed persons based on seniority. A senior teacher could be asked to teach any subject, it added.The Court, however, said this was an unconscionable decision of the authorities."We are not only astonished by such submissions, but shocked by the wisdom of the Education Officer. We cannot countenance such stand, by which a person teaching English, is directed to teach mathematics, though his transfer order clearly indicates that he has been transferred on a vacant post of an English teacher at the Zilla Parishad High School. This, therefore, indicates a fraud played on the petitioner by the Education Department, Zilla Parishad, Nanded," the bench held.The bench, accordingly, quashed the transfer orders and directed the authorities to appoint Shinde at any school in Nanded before May 25, 2022 so as to enable him to join duty prior to starting of new academic year.A further directive was issued to the authorities to pay the unpaid salaries to Shinde."Since we are specifically informed that the conduct of the Zilla Parishad is under the advise of the Chief Executive Office, Zilla Parishad, Nanded, we record our utmost displeasure and we direct the Divisional Commissioner, to issue an appropriate ‘strict warning’ memo to the said Chief Executive Officer and to enter the said warning in her service record," the order said..[Read Order]