Upper primary teachers on contract in UP entitled to Rs 17K salary: SC

In a victory for thousands of contractual teachers in upper primary schools in Uttar Pradesh, the Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that they are entitled to a monthly salary of Rs 17,000 with effect from 2017-18 and are deemed to be employed permanently after expiry of their contract.

The Supreme Court said any unfair practice fixing remuneration of these teachers permanently as Rs 7,000 for all times is a kind of forced labour amounting to ‘begar’ which is strictly prohibited under Article 23 of the Constitution. Dismissing an appeal filed by the Uttar Pradesh Government, a bench of justices Pankaj Mithal and PB Varale directed the State to start paying honorarium to them at the rate of Rs 17,000 per month with effect from April 1, 2026, and the arrears of which shall be paid to them within a period of six months from today.

“The appointment of the part-time or contractual instructors/teachers, in fact, no longer remains contractual in nature once the contract period of eleven months for which they were initially appointed or the extended contract period stood expired. “In fact, these instructors/teachers having continued continuously for over ten years in a row are deemed to be employed permanently against deemed substantive posts, as with the passage of time and keeping in mind the continuity of the work, such posts stand automatically created,” the bench said.

The Supreme Court said the initial burden to pay honorarium to the instructors/teachers is upon the state Government who is free to recover the contribution of the central Government from the Union of India on the principle of “pay and recover”.

“The honorarium payable to these instructors/teachers cannot be permitted to remain stagnant and the same is revisable periodically at least once in three years by the Project Approval Board or any other authority as may be determined by the Central Government/State Government under the scheme or the modified scheme,” it said.

The Uttar Pradesh Government, under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan, decided to appoint part-time instructors/teachers on a contractual basis in upper primary schools (Class 6-8) throughout the state.

Under the above programme, an advertisement was issued in 2013 inviting applications from eligible candidates for appointment as part-time contractual instructors/teachers.

Following the above exercise, a large number of teachers came to be appointed under contracts for 11 months on a fixed honorarium of Rs 7,000 per month, with the condition that these instructors/teachers so appointed would not directly or indirectly take up any part-time or whole-time job anywhere else.

The instructors/teachers were continued even after the expiry of the contractual period of eleven months on a renewed basis, year after year, but their honorarium remained fixed at Rs 7,000 per month despite the fact that recommendations were made by appropriate authorities for the enhancement of the same.

Aggrieved by this, the teachers moved to the Allahabad High Court.

A single judge bench of the High Court directed for the payment of Rs 17,000 per month to such instructors/teachers with effect from March 2017.

However, a division bench directed the state Government to pay honorarium of Rs 17,000 per month for the year 2017-2018 only.

Observing that education is fundamental to the progress of the nation, the Supreme Court said teachers engage with young minds during their most formative years and, in doing so, profoundly influence attitudes, conduct, and ideals.

“Therefore, if we seek a better future for the nation, we must recognise, value and support teachers who are quietly shaping the country’s destiny by moulding character, instilling values, and guiding the youth.

“Thus, a teacher is a divine channel and not merely an instructor who acts as a guiding force in nurturing insight and enlightening thoughts. He is a divine trinity. Teachers command the highest respect in society and are revered/worshipful as Gods,” the bench said.

The Supreme Court said primary teachers are responsible for the character building of the generation next, i.e., “Bharat Bhagya Vidhata”.

“They are the ones who build the character of the new generation. Character building of the citizens is the foundation for the nation-building. If this foundation is weak, the nation is bound to collapse.

“Therefore, we must accord the highest regard and respect to our teachers at all levels, even at the level of the Government, especially the primary teachers. They have to be compensated for their work most suitably. In fact, no honorarium would be enough to compensate the services rendered by our teachers,” the bench said.

The Supreme Court said the part-time contractual instructors/teachers appointed by the state Government are in no way inferior to the regular teachers as they possess the basic educational qualifications and eligibility as set out by the National Council for Teachers Education.

“In view of the constitutional mandate of providing free education up to primary levels, the State Government cannot abandon the scheme and render the Upper Primary Education meaningless, as it would be in conflict with the Act.

“Accordingly, the nature of work assigned to these instructors/teachers is apparently of a permanent nature. The conclusion is, therefore, inevitable that the appointments of these instructors/teachers are more or less of a permanent nature and against a post which is deemed to have been created substantively,” the bench said.