Shillong, June 14: Four days before it was required to submit a report to the court in relation to the CBI findings on appointment of assistant teachers to government-run lower primary schools, the Meghalaya government today contended that it would prefer a “high-level committee” to “segregate the good from the bad” in appointment of such teachers.
Along with the contention, the government also wanted a division bench to set aside the October 21, 2011 judgment of Justice T. Vaiphei of the Shillong bench of Gauhati High Court.
Justice Vaiphei had directed the CBI to probe alleged anomalies in the appointment of assistant teachers in government-run lower primary schools.
The order came as Justice Vaiphei was adjudicating on a case of nine writ petitions filed by aggrieved applicants after information, obtained through the Right to Information Act, 2005, brought to light various discrepancies and manipulation in appointment of assistant teachers in 2009-10.
In 2010, a group of candidates for posts in Jowai, Jaintia Hills district, unearthed massive irregularities/manipulation in the selection and appointment of assistant teachers to lower primary schools.
As the state authorities paid no heed to their pleas, they decided to approach the court via a writ petition in April-May 2010.
Teachers from East Khasi Hills, Amlarem (Jaintia Hills), Tura and other areas under West Garo Hills followed suit.
The CBI started inquiring into the allegations from November 2011. In the meantime, the government had appealed to a division bench seeking a stay on the order passed by Justice Vaiphei. However, no stay was accorded, and the CBI went ahead with its inquiry.
The sealed report, containing more than 100 pages, was submitted by the CBI to the court on March 5.
In March 14, the Shillong bench had forwarded the CBI’s inquiry report to the state education department for necessary action.
The government was subsequently required to submit an action taken report to the court within three months from the date of receipt of the CBI report. The matter is scheduled to come up for hearing on June 18.
Today, while challenging the entire process on the matter, including a plea to set aside and quash the October 21, 2011 judgment, the government asserted before the division bench of the court that it was ready to appoint a high-level committee to probe appointment of the teachers and also to “segregate the good from the bad”.
The division bench, comprising Justice Anima Hazarika and Justice K. Meruno, however, reserved its order without fixing any particular date.
Sources informed that the education department had appointed an advocate S.S. Dey to argue on the matter.
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