In a major set back to 1 lakh 78 thousand Shiksha Mitras whose jobs were regularised as assistant teachers in junior schools in Uttar Pradesh, the Supreme Court quashed their appointment for not holding adequate qualifications as fixed by Centre under Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act.
A bench of Justices AK Goel and UU Lalit held that their jobs could not be regularised at the cost of fundamental right of children to free quality education by duly qualified teachers.
The court, however, said that they should be given opportunity to be considered for recruitment as teachers if they have now acquired the requisite qualification. It also allowed the state government to continue them as Shiksha Mitras on same terms on which they were working prior to their absorption.
Way back in 1999 the state government ordered to appoint two Shikhamitrs or education friends in each and every government primary school for the betterment of primary education.
After implementation of Right to Education Act in 2010, the state government taking a major step decided to appoint same shikshamitrs as assistant teachers and till 2015 more than 1 lakh 37 thousand shikshamitrs were accommodated.
But in September of 2015 Allahabad High Court had termed this appointment illegal and in December 2015, the Supreme Court stayed this order. With final order of the Apex court this burning issue is now over.