Gujarat HC Revokes Teachers' Demotion For Pursuit Of Higher Education

The Gujarat High Court supported three primary teachers whose promotions were revoked due because they pursued higher studies to attain graduate and postgraduate degrees, according to a report by Times of India.

Justice Nikhil Kariel's bench ordered a status quo, allowing the teachers, Magan Dodiya, Savji Parmar, and Haresh Rajyaguru to continue serving as head teachers until further notice. The court issued notices to the authorities and scheduled further hearings for Wednesday.

In 2012, the teachers cleared the Head Teachers Aptitude Test (HTAT), which is a prerequisite for becoming a head teacher, and were promoted. On December 8, 2023, the Bhavnagar town education committee annulled their promotions, and demoted them to their original posts as primary teachers. The committee said that this demotion was due to their 'misconduct' of pursuing higher education without proper departmental permission.

Rajyaguru was granted permission to pursue education

As a response, the teachers sought the High Court's intervention. Their advocates, Shalin Mehta and Shikha Panchal, said that the teachers had sought permissions to pursue higher studies.

Despite the authorities failing to respond to Dodiya and Parmar's requests, Rajyaguru was granted permission in 1988 to pursue graduation and again in 2010 to pursue a master's degree. Even after this, Rajyaguru faced demotion.

The lawyers also contended that the inquiry reports were never shared with the teachers, preventing them from responding adequately to the authority's actions. The High Court's decision to maintain the status quo suggests a potential reevaluation of the situation in favor of the affected teachers.