Orissa High Court. Telegraph picture

Cuttack, Feb. 11: Orissa High Court has called for the records from the State Administrative Tribunal (SAT) to decide on the validity of the gradation list of primary school teachers prepared by the state school and mass education department.

The gradation list has been a centre of dispute for nearly a year now for giving en masse seniority to non-government primary school teachers declared government servants. This was carried out by a resolution passed by the Education and Youth Services department on September 26, 1989, over teachers of aided non-government U.P. schools, which were taken over by resolution of education department on May 12, 1992. The gradation list had been challenged by the All-Orissa Lower Secondary Teachers’ Association (AOLSTA) and others in the SAT.

The tribunal had on April 27, 2010, ruled that “the assistant teachers of non-government primary schools deemed government servants on the basis of the resolution passed on September 26, 1989, cannot be covered under the Orissa Elementary Education (Method of Recruitment and Conditions of Service of Teachers and Officers), Rules, 1997, as their schools were not specifically declared as government schools at any given point of time”.

While quashing the gradation list, SAT had directed the state government to fix seniority of teachers as per resolution of education department on May 12, 1992, on the basis of which aided non-government U.P. schools were taken over.

However, petitions challenging the SAT order were filed in the high court. The state government had also filed one petition.

“When the case came up for hearing on Wednesday, the two judge bench of Justice B.P. Das and Justice Sanju Panda called for the records and adjourned hearing on the case to February 14,” state school and mass education department counsel, Bibhu Prasad Tripathy, told The Telegraph today. Earlier the high court had issued an interim order that said: “In the meantime, the order dated 27 April, 2010 passed by the State Administrative Tribunal along with a batch of cases shall not be given effect to without leave of this court.”

The outcome of the case assumes significance as the government has not been able to give effect to gradation list and fill up promotional posts. The Centre had issued guidelines to fill up all posts including promotional posts in view of the enactment of Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act.

Around 11,110 level IV posts and 7,142 level III posts were lying vacant all over the state.