ORDER
P. Jyothimani, J.
1. In these batch of writ petitions the Self Financing Private Teacher Training Institutes have challenged the validity of the impugned Government Order in G.O.Ms. No. 108 School Education (U1) Department dated 17.05.2007 and the consequential proceedings of the Director of Teacher Education, Research and Training, Chennai as unjust, arbitrary, void, unworkable and unconstitutional in so far as they relate to the petitioners as well as the members of the petitioner Association.
2. The impugned Government Order passed by the State Government while prescribing guidelines for admission of students from the academic year 2007-2008 in the Diploma in Teacher Education has issued directions in the following lines:
(i) granted permission to fill up the Government quota seats under Single Window System in four centres at Chennai;
(ii) The academic year for the Diploma in Teacher Education is from July to June;
(iii) The calendar of activities for the Diploma in Teachers Training as mentioned in the Annexure to the Government Order has to be followed from the academic year 2007-2008, unless specific changes are required during the coming academic years.
3. The said impugned Government Order contains an Annexure, in which it is stated that as per G.O.(1D) No. 111 School Education (U1) Department dated 17.07.2003, reservation by subject-wise, communal-wise and special reservation shall be continued to be followed. The reservation under the said three categories are,
1. Subjectwise reservation:
(i) out of total number of seats, 50% shall be filled up from students of Science faculties in +2 Examinations;
(ii) 25% of students to be filled up from students of Arts faculties in +2 Examinations;
(iii) 25% of students to be filled up from students of Vocational faculties in +2 Examinations.
Under this category, there is a note to the effect that in the case of Anglo-Indian Teacher Training Schools, if students are not available as per the preparation, the seats can be filled up on merit without following subjectwise reservation.
2. Communal Reservation:
(i) Scheduled Castes : 18%(ii) Scheduled Tribes : 1%(iii) Most Backward Class : 20%(iv) Backward Class : 30%(v) Open category : 31%3. Special Reservation:
To be filled up on horizontal basis.
(i) persons with disability (as per the District Medical Board Certificate) : 3% under the Single Window System;
(ii) Children of Ex-Servicemen : 132 seats;
(iii) Legal heirs of Freedom fighters : 28 seats.
It is also stated in Clause IV of the Annexure to G.O.Ms. No. 108 that in respect of the Unaided Non-minority Private Educational Institutions, while admitting students under the Management quota, the policy of reservation of the State Government as per Tamil Nadu Backward Classes, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Reservation of seats in Educational Institutions and of Appointments or posts in the Services) under the State Act, 1993 (Tamil Nadu Act 45 of 1994) has to be followed. However, in respect of Unaided Minority Institutions, the reservation is not insisted.
4. The last clause in the Annexure relates to the calendar of activities to be followed from 2007-2008. According to it,
(i) Diploma in Teacher Training School--academic year is from July to June;
(ii) Self Financing Teacher Training Teachers list approval--last date would be 20th of June every year;
(iii) Advertisement in newspapers, printing and sale of applications, receipt of applications, registration of applications, preparation of merit list and communication to students for counselling under Single Window System--all should be done between first week of May and second week of June;
(iv) Proceedings to admit students under Single Window System - should be done from third week of June to First Week of July;
(v) Applications to be issued to the students under Management quota in respect of Self Financing Aided Teacher Training Schools-- in June first week;
(vi) Beginning of classes for Teacher Training Institutes 'including Self Financing and Aided Teacher Training Schools'--should be with effect from third week of July;
(vii) Last date for admission of students (including Self Financing and Aided Teacher Training Schools)--July 31st;
(viii) Last date for approval of students under Management quota--August 31st;
(ix) Observation and teaching practice--October till the end of November;
(x) Internal assessment--from March to April;
(xi) Public Examination--in June.
5. It is further stated in the said annexure that no Institution can be started without approval from Southern Regional Council(SRC) of the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) and over and above the students strength that is approved by the NCTE shall not be admitted. It is further stated that as per the orders of the Southern Regional Council of National Council for Teacher Education, the approval of teachers must be obtained from the Director of Teacher Education, Research and Training, Chennai before admission of students. It is further stated that in respect of institutions which have obtained conditional recognition from NCTE for 2007-2008, after the teachers list is approved by the Director of Teacher Education, Research and Training and if the unconditional approval of NCTE is obtained, if only from 20th June, students can be admitted in that academic year, if the unconditional recognition is obtained beyond 20th June, the students can be admitted only in the next academic year. It is also further stated that students shall not be admitted beyond 31st July reiterating that July to June shall be treated as academic year for Diploma in Teacher Training courses provided the total number of working days would be 220 days.
6. Broadly speaking, the said impugned Government Order is made applicable to Self Financing Non-minority Teacher Training Institutions and also the Aided Private, Government Minority and Non-minority, Unaided minority institutions. Three conditions which are under challenge in these writ petitions are:
(i) (a) Subjectwise reservation in filling up the seats in the Diploma in Teacher Training courses, viz., 50% from Science group students; 25% from Arts group students and 25% from Vocational group students. The said classification is challenged by the petitioners on the ground that it is beyond the competency of the State Government to impose such condition since the Central recognising /approving body, viz., National Council for Teacher Education has not insisted such condition while granting approval by virtue of the powers under Entry 66 List I of 7th Schedule to the Constitution of India and therefore, the field is occupied by the Union of India and the order passed by the State Government, contrary to the same, is illegal and ultra vires. The petitioners have relied upon various judgements of the Supreme Court in challenging the subjectwise reservation including the judgement of the Supreme Court reported in State of Maharashtra v. Sant Dnyaneshwar Shikshan Shatra Mahavindyalaya : (2006)9SCC1 and the judgement of this Court in Self Financing Private Teacher Training Institutes Association v. State of Tamil Nadu : (2006)4MLJ1477 .
(b) That apart, it is the case of the petitioners that such restriction will amount to interfering with the right of Self Financing Institutions to administer, which includes admission, by placing reliance on the judgement of the Supreme Court in T.M.A. Pai Foundation case : AIR2003SC355 and the latest Supreme court judgement in P.A. Inamdar case (2005) 6 SCC 537.
(c) It is the further contention of the petitioners as submitted by the learned senior counsel Mr. R. Muthukumarasamy and Mr. N.R. Chandran and Mr. K. Selvaraj and other counsel that even otherwise, when the Annexure to the Government Order gives exemption to Anglo-Indian Schools from following the subjectwise reservation, the same should not be denied to the petitioners and therefore, the Government Order is arbitrary and violative of Article 14 of the Constitution of India. It is their submission that as long as the admissions are made transparently in a non-arbitrary manner and non-exploitative nature, it is not open to the State Government to impose such unreasonable conditions.
(ii) As far as the next condition under the impugned Government Order, viz., imposing of communal reservation is concerned, it is the case of the learned senior counsel for the petitioners as well as other counsel that the Supreme Court in T.M.A. Pai Foundation and P.A. Inamdar cases has clearly held that insisting of such reservation policy in respect of admission of students in the Self Financing Non-minority and Minority Institutions is ultra vires. It is also their submission that when the Government of Tamil Nadu filed review petition in the said P.A. Inamdar case, basing reliance on the Tamil Nadu Backward Classes, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Reservation of seats in Educational Institutions and of Appointments or posts in the Services) Act, 1993 (Tamil Nadu Act 45 of 1994), the review petition was dismissed by the Supreme Court, and the Division Bench judgement of this Court approving the conduct of the Government in imposing policy of reservation was stayed and in fact, the larger issue about the reservation is pending before the Apex Court. It is also the submission of the learned senior counsel that as it has happened in the case of B.Ed. Colleges before this Court in Tamil Nadu Self Financing Colleges of Education Management Association (Regd.) rep. by its President R. Tamil Mani and Ors. v. State of Tamil Nadu and Ors. : (2007)6MLJ478 , if the petitioners voluntarily desire to follow the reservation, it is open to them to do the same.
(iii) The last point is about the validity of the schedule stated to be the calendar of activity from the year 2007-2008, especially with reference to admission for the year 2007-2008. According to the petitioners, as submitted by the learned senior counsel and other respective counsel, even for the academic year 2006-2007, the Government itself has extended the period of approval of admission of students upto 30.11.2006 and in respect of approval of teachers, which was originally fixed as 20.11.2006 as last date has been subsequently extended upto 09.03.2007 as per G.O.(2D) No. 7 School Education (U1) Department dated 09.02.2007 and therefore, when for the 2006-2007 itself the schedule has not been followed by the respondents and NCTE has granted approval throughout the year, fixing of the calendar for 2007-2008 in the manner stated in the impugned Government Order as per the Annexure is unworkable. It is also their contention that when this Court has given judgement in W.P. No. 47503 of 2006 based on which the impugned Government Order stated to have been passed by fixing the calendar of activities, the last date for approval of teachers was stated as 20.11.2006, based on which the order came to be passed, however, even before the said order was passed, the date of approval of teachers has been extended upto 09.03.2007 and therefore, according to the learned Counsel for the petitioners it is not the intention of the Government to follow the schedule. Further, though the approval of teachers was extended upto 09.03.2007 for the academic year 2006-2007, but the students were permitted to be admitted upto 30.11.2006, which is before the date of approval of teachers, and hence, the understanding of the Government is that the students should be permitted to be admitted even before the approval of teachers and therefore, according to the learned Counsel, approval of teachers by the Director of Teacher Education, Research and Training, is only an empty formality. The NCTE, the authority for recognition which has prescribed qualifications for the teachers, has perused the entire records relating to the teachers appointed by the Institutions before granting approval and therefore, the approval by the State Government is only in the form of verification of the correctness of the particulars furnished by the Managements to the NCTE and even in the event of the State Government finding some discrepancy in respect of the particulars, it is only open to the State Government to inform the same to the NCTE and the State Government of its own, cannot take any action regarding the cancellation of approval, etc., It is their further submission that incorporating such Schedule is not within the powers of the State Government. According to the learned Counsel, when the Central authority by exercising its powers of maintaining coordination and standard as per the provisions of the Constitution of India has granted approval by referring the list of teachers appointed by the Managements after verifying that possess the necessary qualifications prescribed by the NCTE in its regulations, there is absolutely no necessity for the State Government to once again approve the list, and therefore, the Schedule which is annexed to the Government Order dealing with the approval of list of teachers is really a transgression of powers of the Central Government. It is also insisted by the learned Counsel that the Appendix to the regulations of the NCTE does not only give the details about the qualifications required for the appointment of persons as Teachers in the Diploma course in Teacher Education along with experience, etc., but it also fixes norms and standards apart from directing the Management to file affidavit about the correctness of the particulars furnished and that as per the latest regulations, it is incumbent on the part of the Management to put all the particulars in Website and therefore, it becomes transparent to everybody and in such a situation the question of State Government approving the list of Teachers appointed by the Management does not arise. It is their further contention that after the latest regulations of the NCTE of the year 2005, there is no delegation of powers to the State Government and at the most, the State Government can only be a verifying authority, because the NCTE has granted unconditional approval by accepting the decision of this Court in W.P. No. 15177 of 2007.
7. Mr. N.R. Chandran, learned senior counsel in addition to the contention of Mr. R. Muthukumarasamy, learned senior counsel would submit that in the subjectwise reservation, which is equivalent to regional selection, the chance of meritorious candidates is minimum as persons with lesser marks in different streams like, Arts and Vocational studies are able to get admission under 25% category of reservation, which will be a gross discrimination against the meritorious students. He would also submit that as far as the communal reservation is concerned, in the review petition in P.A. Inamdar case the Supreme Court dismissed the claim of the State Government made on the basis of Tamil Nadu Act 45 of 1994 and therefore, the State Government is estopped from raising the issue again. It is his further contention that in respect of the Schedule of activities, apart from infringing the powers of the Central body, it is purely without any reason, for, according to the learned senior counsel, among the professional courses, the Teacher Training Course is in fact the last resort and therefore, the last date for admission of students by third week of July is practically impossible. Further, the Schedule of activities was not incorporated in consultation with the NCTE at all. According to the learned senior counsel, even the First Year examinations for the candidates admitted in the year 2006-2007 have not been scheduled by the respondents, who are admittedly the examining body and admission for 2007-2008 is yet to be completed and the respondents themselves have not followed the scheme as propounded in the impugned Government Order.
8. On the other hand, it is the contention of Mr. N. Kannadasan, learned Additional Advocate General appearing for the respondents that the State Government being the examining body as per the NCTE Act, should be treated as affiliating body. He would also refer to various provisions of the NCTE Act to contend that the Act itself empowers the State Government to lay down norms and standards in consultation with the Central Government. He would further refer to the admission procedure found in the approval letter of the NCTE wherein it is clearly stated that the selection process of the students must be based on the policy of the State Government. He would also submit that the latest resolution passed by the NCTE based on the orders of this Court in W.P. No. 15177 of 2007 itself would recognise the status of the State as examining body. According to the learned Additional Advocate General, the conduct of the State Government by incorporating the schedule to the impugned Government Order is in consonance with the NCTE regulations and it is not in derogation of the Central legislation as well as the regulations made by the NCTE. He would submit that it is true that under Entry 66 List I of Seventh Schedule, the Central agency is the authority, but, by virtue of Entry No. 25 in List III (concurrent list) of the Seventh Schedule of Constitution of India, the State Government has the role to play while admitting students as examining body which cannot be said to be contrary to the provisions of the NCTE Act. According to him, no one of the provisions of the impugned Government Order is in violation of the NCTE Act. He would further submit that the Central authority, NCTE, has never raised objection about the Government Order and hence, it is not open to the petitioners to raise the same.
9. According to the learned Additional Advocate General when the State Government has not framed any Scheme based on the NCTE Act as examining body for the purpose of conducting the examinations bringing out the syllabus prescribing the term, days, etc., the Government Orders passed have to be treated as a proper guideline. He would submit that fixing of academic year from June to July in the impugned Government Order in normal understanding of any person would make no difference. He would submit that as far as the academic year 2006-2007 is concerned, some problems were created not because of the respondent, but partly because of NCTE in granting recognition throughout the year and also because of the grievance raised by the private Management like the petitioners, and therefore, various Government Orders were issued extending the time for approval of teachers and admission of students in the Institutions for the academic year 2006-2007. He would submit that as an agency, which is not unconnected with the conducting of private educational institutions, the State Government cannot stand as a passive spectator when the unscrupulous Managements, by giving false information to the NCTE, are obtaining approval and proceeding to commence classes without qualifying teachers, which will certainly affect the standard of students in the State of Tamil Nadu and the State Government is entitled to see that the academic career of students should be brought up in a proper manner. He would also submit that in respect of the newly recognised institutions only the extension of date for admission as well as approval of teachers has been given. Unless and until the teachers list is approved by the State Government as per the direction of the NCTE, such institutions are not entitled to admit any students. According to the learned Additional Advocate General, it is true that if any deficiency is found, it will be reported to the NCTE for proper action, but no one can compel the State Government to give approval to the teachers when the State authority has found that there is patent violation of norms prescribed by the NCTE in respect of qualification of teaches. It is his contention that it is strange to say that even before the approval of teachers with necessary qualifications, the institutions can admit students, which is antithesis to the concept of education itself.
10. I have heard the learned senior counsel and other counsel for the respective petitioners and the learned Additional Advocate General for the respondents and perused the entire records.
11. Considering the submissions made by the respective counsel, it can be categorised that the impugned Government Order is challenged on three grounds, viz.,
(i) Subjectwise allotment of seats in respect of Unaided institutions by directing 50% of the seats to be allotted to the science students; 25% to be allotted to Arts students and the remaining 25% to be allotted to the vocational stream students is ultra vires;
(ii) The communal reservation by directing Self Financing Non-minority Teacher Educational Institutions to follow the policy of reservation in the following manner, viz.,
(a) Scheduled castes : 18%(b) Scheduled Tribes : 2%(c) Most Backward Class : 20%(d) Backward Class : 30% and(e) Open category : 31%,is illegal;(iii) The calendar of activity by fixing dates for admission etc., to be followed from 2007-2008, is not practicable, and therefore, illegal.
12. Out of the three grounds raised by the petitioners, in respect of the challenge on the basis of communal reservation, in a batch of writ petitions, viz., W.P. No. 37233 of 2006 etc., batch, wherein G.O.Ms.(1D) No. 226 School Education (U1) Department dated 28.08.2006, in which the policy of reservation of the State Government was directed to be followed in respect of admission of students in Teacher Training Institutions, was challenged and based on the judgement of the Apex Court, especially in P.A. Inamdar v. State of Maharashtra 2005 (6) SCC 537 , this Court has held that such reservation is not permissible in respect of admission of students in the private Self Financing Non-minority Institutions. In that case, it was held that in the event of the respective Institutions intending to follow the rule of reservation, there is no bar. In this case also as fairly submitted by the learned senior counsel Mr. R. Muthukumarasamy, it is left open to the petitioner Institutions to follow the said principle of reservation. In view of the same, no separate order is necessary as far as this issue is concerned and the order passed in the above batch of cases shall be binding.
13. Therefore, the only other two issues to be considered in these batch of writ petitions are,
(i) Subjectwise reservation; and
(ii) Calendar of activities to be followed from the year 2007-2008 onwards.
14. Before adverting the above said points, it is relevant to point out some of the provisions of the National Council for Teacher Education Act, 1993. The said Act has been passed by the Government of India under Entry 66 of List I (Union List) of the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution of India. The said Entry 66 reads as follows:
66. Co-ordination and determination of standards in institutions for higher education or research and scientific and technical institutions.
By virtue of the 42nd Amendment to the Constitution of India, which came into effect from 03.1.1977, Entry No. 11 of List II (State List) was omitted. After the said Constitutional Amendment, Entry No. 25 of List III (Concurrent List) stands as follows:
25. Education, including technical education, medical education and universities, subject to the provisions of entries 63, 64, 65 and 66 of List I; vocational and technical training of labour.
Therefore, the provision regarding 'Co-ordination and determination of standards in institutions for higher education or research and scientific and technical institutions' always remains within the purview of the Parliament either before or after the 42nd Amendment. Even as per Entry No. 25 of List III, the same is made subject to Entry No. 66 of List I. Therefore, it is clear that the legislation with regard to the Co-ordination and determination of standards in institutions for higher education or research and scientific and technical institutions is always within the domain of the Parliament.
15. The National Council for Teacher Education Act, 1993 (in short, 'NCTE' Act) has been enacted by the Parliament with a view to achieving planned and coordinated development of Teacher Educational system throughout the country, the regulation and proper maintenance of norms and standards in the teacher education system and the matters connected therewith. The said Act defines the term 'Teacher Education' in Section 2(1) as follows:
2(1) 'teacher education' means programmes of education, research or training of persons for equipping them to teach at pre-primary, primary, secondary and senior secondary stages in schools and includes non-formal education, part-time education, adult education and correspondence education.
Therefore, 'teacher education' includes the Diploma as well as Degree in Teacher education.
16. The term 'examining body' is defined under Section 2(d) of the NCTE Act, as follows:
2(d) 'examining body' means a University, agency or authority in which an institution is affiliated for conducting examinations in teacher education qualifications.
17. The term 'University' is defined under Section 2(n), which runs as under:
2(n).'University' means a University defined under Clause (f) of Section 2 of University Grants Commission Act, 1956, and includes an institution deemed to be a University under Section 3 of that Act.
While Chapter II provides for Establishment of the Council, Chapter III deals with the functions to be performed by the Council. Section 20 of the Act which is in Chapter V deals with the creation of Regional Committees to be constituted by the National Council for Teacher Education, created as per Section 3(1) of the NCTE Act. The said Regional Committees are:
(i) the Eastern Regional Committee;
(ii) the Western Regional Committee;
(iii) the Northern Regional Committee; and
(iv) the Southern Regional Committee.
Chapter IV of the NCTE Act deals with Recognition of Teacher Educational Institutions. Sections 14, 15 and 16 deal with procedure to be followed for granting recognition, permission for starting new course or training by recognised institutions and powers of the affiliating body to grant affiliation. The said sections are as follows:
Section 14(1). Every institution offering or intending to offer a course or training in teacher education on or after the appointed day, may, for grant of recognition under this Act, make an application to the Regional Committee concerned in such form and in such manner as may be determined by regulations:
Provided that an institution offering a course or training in teacher education immediately before the appointed day, shall be entitled to continue such course or training for a period of six months, if it has made an application for recognition within the said period and until the disposal of the application by the Regional Committee.
(2) The fee to be paid along with the application under Sub-section (1) shall be such as may be prescribed.
(3) On receipt of an application by the Regional Committee from any institution under Sub-section (1), and after obtaining from the institution concerned such other particulars as it may consider necessary, it shall:
(a) if it is satisfied that such institution has adequate financial resources, accommodation, library, qualified staff, laboratory and that it fulfils such other conditions required for proper functioning of the institution for a course or training in teacher education, as may be determined by regulations, pass an order granting recognition to such institution, subject to such conditions as may be determined by regulations; or
(b) if it is of the opinion that such institution does not fulfil the requirements laid down in Sub-clause (a), pass an order refusing recognition to such institution for reasons to be recorded in writing:
Provided that before passing an order under Sub-clause (b), the Regional Committee shall provide a reasonable opportunity to the concerned institution for making a written representation.
(4) Every order granting or refusing recognition to an institution for a course or training in teacher education under Sub-section (3) shall be published in the Official Gazette and communicated in writing for appropriate action to such institution and to the concerned examining body, the local authority or the State Government and the Central Government.
(5) Every institution, in respect of which recognition has been refused shall discontinue the course or training in teacher education from the end of the academic session next following the date of receipt of the order refusing recognition passed under Clause (b) of Sub-section (3).
(6) Every examining body shall, on receipt of the order under Sub-section (4):
(a) grant affiliation to the Institution, where recognition has been granted; or
(b) cancel the affiliation of the Institution, where recognition has been refused.
15. (1) Where any recognised Institution intends to start any new course or training in teacher education, it may make an application to seek permission therefor to the Regional Committee concerned in such form and in such manner as may be determined by regulations.
(2) The fees to be paid along with the application under Sub-section (1) shall be such as may be prescribed.
(3) On receipt of an application from an institution under Sub-section (1), and after obtaining from the recognised institution such other particulars as may be considered necessary, the Regional Committee shall:
(a) if it is satisfied that such recognised institution has adequate financial resources, accommodation, library, qualified staff, laboratory and that it fulfils such other conditions required for proper conduct of the new course or training in teacher education, as may be determined by regulations, pass an order granting permission, subject to such conditions as may be determined by regulation; or
(b) if it is of the opinion that such institution does not fulfil the requirements laid down in Sub-clause (a), pass an order refusing permission to such institution, for reasons to be recorded in writing:
Provided that before passing an order refusing permission under Sub-clause (b), the Regional Committee shall provide a reasonable opportunity to the institution concerned for making a written representation.
(4) Every order granting or refusing permission to a recognised institution for a new course or training in teacher education under Sub-section (3), shall be published in the Official Gazette and communicated in writing for appropriate action to such recognised institution and to the concerned examining body, the local authority, the State Government and the Central Government.
16. Notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force, no examining body shall, on or after the appointed day:
(a) grant affiliation, whether provisional or otherwise, to any Institution; or
(b) hold examination, whether provisional or otherwise, for a course or training conducted by a recognised institution,
unless the institution concerned has obtained recognition from the Regional Committee concerned, under Section 14 or permission for a course or training under Section 15.
Under Section 20(6) of the NCTE Act, the Regional Committees are having the same powers as that of the Central Committee, viz., the powers in Sections 14, 15 and 17, in addition to any other functions, which may be assigned by the Council.
18. The term 'Council' is defined under Section 2(c) of the Act, which is as follows:
2(c). 'Council' means the National Council for Teacher Education established under Sub-section (1) of Section 3.
19. Section 17 enables the Regional Committee to withdraw recognition of any recognised institution, apart from stating the procedures to be followed for such de-recognition. Section 17 as follows:
Section 17. (1) Where the Regional Committee is, on its own motion or on any representation received from any person, satisfied that a recognised institution has contravened any of the provisions of this Act, or the rules, regulations, orders made or issued thereunder, or any condition subject to which recognition under Sub-section (3) of Section 14 or permission under Sub-section (3) of Section 15 was granted, it may withdraw recognition of such recognised institution, for reasons to be recorded in writing:
Provided that no such order against the recognised institution shall be passed unless a reasonable opportunity of making representation against the proposed order has been given to such recognised institution:
Provided further that the order withdrawing or refusing recognition passed by the Regional Committee shall comes into force only with effect from the end of the academic session next following the date of communication of such order.
(2) A copy of every order passed by the Regional Committee under Sub-section (1):
(a) shall be communicated to the recognised institution concerned and a copy thereof shall also be forwarded simultaneously to the University or the examining body to which such institution was affiliated for cancelling affiliation; and
(b) shall be published in the Official Gazette for general information.
(3) Once the recognition of a recognised institution is withdrawn under Sub-section (1) such institution shall discontinue the course or training in teacher education, and the concerned University or the examining body shall cancel affiliation of the institution in accordance with the order passed under Sub-section (1), with effect from the end of the academic session next following the date of communication of the said order.
(4) If an institution offers any course or training in teacher education after coming into force of the order withdrawing recognition under Sub-section (1), or where an institution offering a course or training in teacher education immediately before the appointed day falls or neglects to obtain recognition or permission under this Act, the qualification in teacher education obtained pursuant to such course or training or after undertaking a course or training in such institution, shall not be treated as a valid qualification for purposes of employment under the Central Government, any State Government or University, or in any school, college or other educational body aided by the Central Government or any State Government.
However, against such order, an appeal lies to the Council. Section 12 of the Act empowers the National Council for Teacher Education to lay down guidelines in respect of minimum qualifications for a person to be employed as teacher in Schools or in recognised institutions, to lay down norms for any specified category of courses or training in Teacher Education, including the minimum eligibility criteria, to lay down guidelines for compliance by recognised institutions for starting new courses or training, to lay down standards in respect of examinations leading to teacher education qualifications, etc. The said Section 12 is as follows:
Section 12. It shall be the duty of the Council to take all such steps as it may think fit for ensuring planned and co-ordinated development of teacher education and for the determination and maintenance of standards for teacher education and for the purposes of performing its functions under this Act, the Council may:
(a) undertake surveys and studies relating to various aspects of teacher education and publish the result thereof;
(b) make recommendations to the Central and State Governments, Universities, University Grants Commission and recognised institutions in the matter of preparation of suitable plans and programmes in the fields of teacher education;
(c) co-ordinate and monitor teacher education and its development in the country;
(d) lay down guidelines in respect of minimum qualifications for a person to be employed as a teacher in schools or in recognised institutions;
(e) lay down norms for any specified category of courses or training in teacher education, including the minimum eligibility criteria for admission thereof, and the method of selection of candidates, duration of the course, course contents and mode of curriculum;
(f) lay down guidelines for compliance by recognised institutions, for starting new courses or training, and for providing physical and institutional facilities, staffing pattern and staff qualifications;
(g) lay down standards in respect of examinations leading to teacher education qualifications, criteria for admission to such examinations and schemes of courses or training;
(h) lay down guidelines regarding tuition fees and other fees chargeable by recognised institution;
(i) promote and conduct innovation and research in various area of teacher education and disseminate the results thereof.
(j) examine and review periodically the implementation of the norms, guidelines and standards laid down by the Council, and to suitably advise the recognised institutions;
(k) evolve suitable performance appraisal systems, norms and mechanisms for enforcing accountability on recognised institutions;
(l) formulate schemes for various levels of teacher education and identify recognised institutions and set up new institutions for teacher development programmes;
(m) take all necessary steps to prevent commercialisation of teacher education; and
(n) perform such other functions as may be entrusted to it by the Central Government.
20. Section 31(1) of the Act enables the Central Government, by notification in the official gazette, to make rules to carry out the provisions of the Act, which includes apart from the constitution of the Members of the Council, the manner in which and persons by whom the inspection of Institutions has to be conducted, the fees payable on application for obtaining recognition under Section 14(2) of the Act.
21. Section 32 enables the Council, by notification in the official gazette, to make regulations which includes apart from the procedures of the meeting of the Council, the following matters regarding the norms, guidelines and standards in respect of
(i) the minimum qualifications for a person to be employed as a teacher under Clause (d) of Section 12;
(ii) the specified category of courses or training in teacher education under Clause (c) of Section 12;
(iii) starting of new courses or training in recognised institutions under Clause (f) of Section 12;
(iv) standards in respect of examinations leading to teacher education qualifications referred to in Clause (g) of Section 12;
(v) the tuition fees and other fees chargeable by institutions under Clause (h) of Section 12;
(vi) the schemes for various levels of teachers education, and identification of institutions for offering teacher development programmes under Clause (l) of Section 12.
22. In consonance with the said provisions of the NCTE Act, the National Council for Teacher Education has framed Rules called 'National Council for Teacher Education (Recognition, Norms & Procedure) (Amendment) Regulations, 2006, (hereinafter called as '2006 Regulations'), which was promulgated on 27.12.2005 by the NCTE and notified on 13.01.2006. By the said Amended '2006 Regulations', certain changes were made in the National Council for Teacher Education (Recognition Norms & Procedure) Regulations, 2005, especially in relation to Regulation 7, which deals with 'Processing of Applications'. The Regulation No. 7 which stands as on today, viz., after the Amended '2006 Regulations', is as follows:
7. Processing of applications.
(1) Applications which are complete in all respects shall be processed by the office of the Regional Committee concerned within 30 days of receipt of the such applications.
(2) The applications shall be processed as under:
(i) The particulars of the institutions shall be hosted on the official website of the Regional Committee concerned of the National Council for Teacher Education.
(ii) This will serve as an electronic communication to the applicant and also the State Government/UT Administration concerned for necessary follow up action on their part.
(iii) A written communication in addition shall also follow to the applicant.
(iv) A written communication along with a copy of the application form submitted by the institution(s) of the concerned State/U.T. shall be sent to the State Government/U.T. Administration concerned.
(3) On receipt of the communication, the State Government/UT Administration concerned shall furnish its recommendations on the applications to the office of the Regional Committee concerned of the National Council for Teacher Education within 60 days from receipt. If the recommendation is negative, the State Government/UT Administration shall provide detailed reasons/grounds thereof, which could be taken into consideration by the Regional Committee concerned while deciding the application. If no communication is received from the State Government/UT Administration within the stipulated 60 days, it shall be presumed that the State Government/UT Administration concerned has no recommendation to make.
(4) Though normally, the applicant institutions will ensure submission of applications complete in all respects, in order to cover the inadvertent omission of deficiencies in documents, the office of the Regional Committee shall point out the deficiencies within 30 days of receipt of the applications, which the applicants shall remove within 90 days. The date of receipt of the application after completion of deficiencies shall be treated as the date of receipt of the application complete in all respects within the meaning of Regulation 7(1).
(5) Ordinarily, the inspection of infrastructure, equipment, instructional facilities etc. of an institution shall be conducted within 30 days of completion of processing of its application by the office of the Regional Committee with a view to assessing the level of preparedness of the institution to commence the course. Such inspection shall be in the chronological order of the date of receipt of the completed application in the office of the Regional Committee concerned. Among the applications received on the same day, alphabetical order shall be followed.
(6) All the applicant institutions shall launch an own website simultaneously with the submission of their applications covering, inter alia, the details of the institution, its location, name of the course applied for with intake, availability of physical infrastructure, (land, building, office, class rooms and other facilities/amenities), instructional (laboratory, library) and the particulars of their proposed teaching and non-teaching staff etc. with photographs for information of all concerned.
(7) At the time of receipt of the team of experts to an institution, the institution concerned shall arrange for the inspection to be videographed in a manner that all important facilities are videographed along with interaction with the management and the staff (if available). The visiting teams shall finalise and courier their reports along with the video tapes on the same day.
(8) the application and the report along with the video tapes of the Visiting Team shall be placed before the Regional Committee concerned for consideration of grant of recognition or permission to an institution in its next meeting.
(9) The Regional Committee shall decide grant of recognition or permission to an institution only after satisfying itself that the institution full-fills all the conditions prescribed by the NCTE under the NCTE Act, Rules or Regulations, including, inter alia, the Norms and Standards laid down for the relevant Teacher Education Programme/Course.
(10) The matter of grant of recognition, the Regional Committees shall strictly act within the ambit of the National Council for Teacher Education Act, 1993, the National Council for Teacher Education Rules, 1997 as amended from time to time and the Regulations including the Norms and Standards for various Teacher Education Programmes and shall not make any relaxation thereto. The Regional Director who is the convenor of the Regional Committee while putting up the proposal to the Regional Committee shall be responsible for ensuring that the provisions in the NCTE Act, Rules and Regulations including Norms and Standards for various Teacher Education Programmes have been brought to the notice of the Regional Committee to enable the Regional Committee to take appropriate decisions.
(11) The institution concerned shall be informed of the decision for grant of recognition or permission subject to appointment of qualified faculty members before the commencement of the academic session.
(12) The Institution concerned, after appointing the requisite faculty/staff, shall put the information on its official website and also formerly inform the Regional Committee concerned. The Regional Committee concerned shall then issue a formal unconditional recognition order.
(13) In cases where the Regional Committee, after consideration of the report of the Visiting Team is of the opinion that the institution does not full-fill the requirements for starting/conducting the course, such an institution will be allowed one more opportunity for inspection after removal of the deficiencies. For such inspection the institution concerned shall again deposit a fee of Rs. 40,000/- to the Regional Committee concerned through a Demand Draft from any nationalised bank drawn in favour of the Member Secretary, NCTE payable at the city where the Regional Committee is located. However, no such fee is required if the deficiencies pointed out are minor in nature not involving civil construction or the like and the rectifications are verifiable without physical inspection.
(14) The reports of inspection of the institutions along with the names of the Visiting Team Experts shall be made available on the official website of the Regional Committee concerned after the same have been considered by the Regional Committee.
23. Regulation 8 deals with the Conditions for the grant of Recognition, which reads as follows:
8. Conditions for Grant of Recognition:
(1) An institution must full-fill all the prescribed conditions related to norms and standards as prescribed by the NCTE for conducting the course or training in teacher education. These norms, inter alia, cover conditions relations to financial resources, accommodation, library, laboratory, other physical infrastructure, qualified staff including teacher and non-teaching, personnel etc.
(2) In the first instance, an institution shall be considered for grant of recognition for the basic unit as prescribed in the norms and standards for the particular teacher education programme.
(3) An institution shall be permitted to apply for enhancement of intake in a teacher education course already approved after completion of the academic session of running the course.
(4) An institution shall be permitted to apply for enhancement of intake in secondary teacher Education Programme - B.Ed., and B.P.Ed., Programme, if it has accredited itself with the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) with a grade of B+ on a nine point scale developed by NAAC.
(5) No institution shall be granted recognition under these Regulations unless it is in possession of required land on the date of application. The land free from all encumbrances could be either on ownership basis or on lease for a period of not less than 30 years. In cases where under relevant State/UT laws the maximum permissible lease period is less than 30 years. The State Government/UT Administration law shall prevail.
(6) The institution/society shall furnish an affidavit on Rs. 100/- stamp paper duly attested by Notary Public stating the precise location of the land (village, district, state etc.), the total area in possession and the permission of the competent authority to use the land for education purposes, mode of possession, i.e. ownership or lease.
(7) The affidavit shall be relied upon by the Regional Committee as an authentic self-declaration. The copy of the affidavit shall be displayed by the institution on its official website so as to make the self-declaration available in public domain. In case the contents of the affidavit are found to be incorrect or false, the society/trust or the institution concerned shall be liable for action under the relevant provisions of Indian Penal Code and other relevant laws. In case of Government institutions the said affidavit shall be furnished by the Principal or the Head of the Institution or any other higher authority.
(8) At the time of inspection, the building of the institution shall be complete in the form of a permanent structure on the land possessed by the institution in terms of Regulation 8(5), equipped with all necessary amenities and fulfilling all such requirements as prescribed in the norms and standards.
(9) In case of change of premises, prior approval of the Regional Committee concerned shall be necessary, which could be accorded after due inspection of the institution at the new site. The change can be permitted to a site which, if applied initially, could have qualified for establishment of an institution as per prescribed norms of NCTE. The change should be displayed on website thereafter. The application for change of premises shall be accompanied by a demand draft of Rs. 40,000/- of a Nationalised Bank drawn in favour of the Member Secretary, NCTE and payable at the city where the Regional Committee is located.
(10) An institution shall make admission only after it obtains unconditional letter of recognition from the Regional Committee concerned, and affiliation from the examining body.
(11) Whenever there are changes in the norms and standards for the course or training in teacher education, the institution shall comply with the requirements laid down in the revised norms and standards immediately but not later than the date of commencement of the next academic session, subject to conditions prescribed in the revised norms.
(12) An institution shall have copies of all relevant Acts, Rules and Regulations of NCTE, Central and State/UT Govt., affiliating/examining bodies, and other Central/State/UT authorities, relevant to the running of an educational institution currently in force. The institution shall make all the information/documents available to the NCTE or its authorised representatives as and when demanded by them. Failure to produce/show any of these documents, shall be treated as a breach of condition for recognition.
(13) The institution shall maintain records/registers and other documents etc., which are essential for running an educational institution especially those prescribed in the relevant norms and standards and guidelines/instructions/rules etc., of the Central/State/UT Govts., affiliating/examining bodies.
(14) The institution shall adhere to the mandatory disclosure in the prescribed format and display up-to-date information on its official website.
24. A combined reading of the said Regulations shows that under Regulation 7(11), the Regional Committee can grant recognition or permission subject to certain conditions and after the concerned institution complies with the various requirements, an unconditional order of recognition is issued under Regulation 7(12) of the Regulations.
25. It is brought to the notice of this Court that the Southern Regional Committee in its 145th Meeting held on 16th, 17th and 18th October, 2007 has passed a resolution resolving to issue unconditional recognition as directed by this Court subject to the submission of an affidavit by the Management concerned regarding the appointment of staff on Rs. 100/- stamp paper in the prescribed format and an affidavit on Rs. 10/- from the individual staff members in the prescribed format and also the staff profile of the faculty appointed, if the institution has appointed staff with requisite qualifications as prescribed by NCTE in the norms and standards for the particular course. It is also informed that in the said resolution, the Southern Regional Committee has also decided to incorporate Para 8(1) of NCTE Regulations dated 13.01.2006, which is in the following words:
An institution shall make admissions only after it obtains affiliation from the examining body.
26. The Norms and Standards for Elementary Teacher Education Programme leading to Diploma in Education [D.Ed.] has been prescribed by the NCTE in the 'National Council for Teacher Education (Recognition, Norms and Procedure) (Third Amendment) Regulations, 2006 published on 15th November, 2006, (Appendix 2) which is as follows:
1.0 Preamble
1.1.1 Free and compulsory elementary education (6-14 years) is the fundamental right of every child in our country. The aim of elementary education is to fulfill the basic learning needs of all children in an inclusive school environment bridging social and gender gaps with the active participation of the community.
1.1.2 The objectives of elementary education are to enable the child to develop skills of literacy, numeracy, communication and problem solving and acquire knowledge and understanding of the physical and social world around and attitudes and skills related to enhancing productivity and quality of life.
1.1.3 The elementary stage of education marks the beginning of formal introduction of the child to the 3R's gradually moving on to the study of the disciplines. It should provide for a learning environment for children that promote joyful, activity based and participatory teacher and learning.
1.1.4 The elementary teacher education programme carries different nomenclatures like BTC, diploma in Education, TTC and so on. Both the duration of training and entry qualifications differ across states. The course is offered in elementary teacher education institutions and in DIETs. The programme is aimed at preparing teachers for primary (I-V) level education.
2.0 Duration and working days
(a) The elementary teacher education programme shall be of duration of two academic years.
(b) There shall be at least 200 working days each year exclusive of the period of examination and admission, out of which at least 40 days shall be for practice teaching/skill development in nearby elementary schools.
(c) A working day shall be of a minimum of 6 hours in a six day week, during which physical presence in the institution of all the teachers and student teachers is necessary to ensure their availability for individual advice, guidance, dialogues and consultation as and when needed.
3.0 Intake, Eligibility and Admission Procedure
3.1 Intake
3.1.1 There shall be a unit of 50 students, for each years.
3.2.1 Candidates with at least 50% marks in the senior secondary examination (+2) or its equivalent are eligible for admission.
3.2.2 There shall be relaxation of marks/reservation of seats for SC/ST/OBC and other categories as per the Rules of the Central Government/State Government/UT Administration concerned.
3.3 Admission Procedure
3.3.1 Admission shall be made on merit on the basis of marks obtained in the qualifying examination and/or in the entrance examination or any other selection process as per the policy of the State Government/UT Administration.
4.0 Staff
4.1 Academic
4.1.1 (a)(i) Number (for an intake of 50 each year, total 100 in the 2 years)
Principal - 1Lectures - 54.1.1 (a)(ii) Additional intake which will be in the multiple of 50 student, the number of full time teacher educators shall be increased by three.
4.1.1. (a)(iii) Appointment of teachers shall be such as to ensure the availability of expertise for all methodology courses and foundation courses.
4.1.1. (a)(iv) For activities such as Health and Physical Education, Art, Work Experience, Music, ICT etc., part-time teachers may be appointed.
4.1.1(b) Qualifications Principal:
(a) Academic and professional qualification will be as prescribed for the post of lecturer; and
(b) 2 years' experience of teaching in an elementary teacher education institution.
Lecturer:
(a) M.Ed. (or M.A. Education with B.Ed.) and diploma in Elementary Teacher Education / 5 years' teaching experience in recognised elementary school / elementary teacher education institution.
OR
(b) Master's Degree in relevant school subject and Bachelor of Elementary Education or B.Ed. with Diploma in Elementary Education with five years' teaching experience in elementary school/teacher education institution.
4.1.2 Technical Support Staff
(a) NumberLibrarian - one (full time)Art (Fine Arts/performing Art/music) - Part-timeHealth & PhysicalEducation - Part timeWork experience - Part time(b) Qualifications as prescribed by the State Government/UT Administration concerned.
4.1.3 Administrative staff
(a) Number(i) UDC/Office Superintendent 1 (Regular)(ii) Computer Operator-cum-StoreKeeper 1 (Regular)(iii) Helpers 2 (Regular)(b) Qualifications as prescribed by the State Govt./UT Administration concerned.
4.2 Terms and conditions of service
(a) The appointment shall be made on the basis of recommendations of the Selection Committee constituted as per the policy of the Central/concerned State Government/Board whichever is applicable.
(b) All appointments are to be made on full-time and regular basis excepting those specified as part-time.
(c) Appointment of part-time instructors and other supporting staff shall be made as per norms of the concerned Government.
(d) The academic and other staff of the institutions shall be paid such salary as may be prescribed by the concerned Government by account payee cheque or as per advice into the bank account of the employee, specially opened for the purpose.
(e) The management of the institution shall discharge the statutory duties relating to pension, gratuity, provident fund, etc. for its employees.
(f) The age of superannuation of staff shall be determined by the policy of concerned Government.
Facilities
5.1 Infrastructure
Built-in area consisting of class-rooms etc. shall not be less than 1500 sq.mts. space in each instructional room shall be 10 sq.ft. per student.
5.1.2 There shall be provision for two class-rooms, one multi purpose hall, one multi purpose laboratory, seminar/tutorial rooms, resource room for education of handicapped, separate rooms for the principal, for the faculty members, for the office and for the administrative staff and a store appropriate space is provided for music art drama work experience activities. For every instructional room like class room, laboratory, library etc. space shall not be less than 10 sq.ft. per student. Multi purpose hall shall have the seating capacity for 150 persons.
5.1.3 There shall be games facilities with a play ground. Alternatively, the play ground available with the attached school or local body may be utilised exclusively for fixed periods. Where there is scarcity of space as in metropolitan towns/hilly regions, facilities for small court games, yoga and indoor games may be provided.
5.1.4 Safeguard against fire hazard be provided in all parts of the building.
5.1.5 The institutional campus, building, furniture etc. should be barrier free.
5.2 Instructional
(a) The institution shall have easy access to sufficient number (5-10) of recognised elementary schools for field work and practice teaching related activities of student teachers. A list of such schools shall be prepared. It is desirable that it has an attached an elementary school of its own.
(b) There shall be a multi purpose educational laboratory with psychology and science sections, a workshop attached to it.
(c) The science section shall have the apparatus required to demonstrate all the experiments as per the syllabus of elementary schools.
(d) The psychology section shall have the facilities for observation of children counselling and guidance Personality and Interest Inventories.
(e) There shall be hardware and software facilities for language learning.
(f) There shall be an Educational Technology laboratory with hardware for projection and duplication and educational software, required for imparting Information Technology (IT), Literacy including TV, camera etc.
(g) ROT (Received Only Terminal) and SIT (Satellite Interlinking Terminal) shall be desirable.
(h) There shall be a library equipped with minimum 2000 titles including text and reference books related to the prescribed course of study, educational encyclopaedias, year books, electronic publications (CD Roms) and 5 educational journals on elementary education and related subjects. It should be augmented with addition of 200 titles annually. The library shall have photocopying facility and computer with internet facility for the use of faculty students - teachers.
(i) There shall be an art and music section, equipped with art paper, also notes, brushes, colours etc. for visual art. Simple musical instruments such as harmonium, dabla, flute, mridingam other local popular instruments, costumes and accessories for staging dance and drama performance, curtains and other accessories.
5.3 Amenities.
5.3.1 Functional and appropriate furniture for the purpose in required number shall be provided for instructional and other purposes. Tables and chairs for teachers and students, for laboratories and workshops, computer room, library, office, store room etc. should be provided fully as needed.
5.3.2 The institution shall provide common rooms for female teacher educators/trainees.
5.3.3 Safe drinking water be provided in the institution.
5.3.4 Sufficient number of toilets, separate male and female, shall be made available to staff and students.
5.3.5 Arrangement shall be made for a canteen, telephone facility and parking of vehicles etc.
5.3.6 Effective arrangements shall be made for the repair and replenishment for furniture and other equipments as and when needed and regular cleaning of campus, water and toilet facilities.
General
If one or more courses in teacher education are run by the same institution in the same building, the facilities of play ground, multi purpose hall, library and laboratory (with proportionate addition of books and equipments) and instructional space may be shared.
27. Therefore, it is clear that the admission procedure, qualifications required for the post of Principal, Lecturers, Technical Support Staff and Administrative Staff and their service conditions have been clearly laid down in the norms Prescribed by the NCTE and as stated above, the NCTE which was in the habit of issuing conditional recognition and thereafter issuing unconditional order of recognition after compliance of various requirements, has now decided to grant unconditional recognition based on the order of this Court passed in the batch of writ petitions, viz., W.P. No. 15177 of 2007 etc. batch dated 25.04.2007 (Oxford Teacher Training Institute rep. By its Correspondent and Ors. v. NCTE and Ors.), wherein this Court has held as follows:
15. Considering the submissions made on either side the above writ petitions are disposed of with the following direction:All the petitioners shall submit affidavit by the management regarding the appointment of staff in Rs. 100/- stamp paper in the prescribed format, affidavit in Rs. 10/- from the individual staff members in the prescribed format and staff profile if the same have not already been submitted within a period of two weeks from the date of receipt of a copy of this order and on receipt of such request from the writ petitioners, the same shall be considered by NCTE and pass appropriate orders thereon within a period of two weeks therefrom and grant unconditional recognition without insisting for the approval by the concerned affiliating body like University, SCERT, DTERT, DSERT etc.
Therefore, as on date, there is no conditional recognition granted by the NCTE in respect of Teacher Training Institutions.
28. In each year, the number of working days are 200 with 40 practical teaching classes, and one unit must consist of 50 students. While stipulating the admission procedure as enumerated above, it is stated that the admission to the Diploma in Teacher Education has to be made on merit based on the marks obtained in the qualifying examinations or in the Entrance Examination or any other selection process as per the policy of the State Government or UT Administration. Now, in the State of Tamil Nadu the admission procedure is based on the marks obtained in the qualifying examinations, and there is no difficulty to come to the conclusion that it is the marks obtained in the +2 examinations, which is the criterion for admission of students.
29. Section 12(b) of the NCTE Act only enables the National Council for Teacher Education to make recommendations to the State Governments, Universities and UGC in the matter of preparation of suitable plans and programmes in the field of Teacher Education and it cannot be said to have conferred any power on the State Government beyond the powers of the NCTE. It is true that Regulation 8(10) makes it clear that an institution shall make admission only after obtains unconditional recognition from the Regional Committee concerned and affiliation from the examining body. As stated above, the examining body is defined as not only the University, but also agency or authority to which an institution is affiliated for conducting examinations in Teacher Education qualifications. However, the term, 'affiliation' is not defined. While construing the term 'examining body' under Section 2(d) of NCTE Act there is no difficulty to conclude that the State Government as well as the Director of Teacher Education, Research and Training is the examining body. The question which can be raised in this case is as to whether the examining body, viz., respondents 1 and 2 can be equated to the affiliating body, viz., the University.
30. University is a statutory creature, having its own Statutes, Ordinances and Regulations framed in accordance with the concerned law. The Ordinances and Regulations elaborately explain various procedures to be followed for inspection of Colleges to find out the infrastructure facilities available, apart from verifying the qualifications required for appointment of teaching staff, prescribing syllabus, etc. before granting affiliation.
31. It is also pertinent to point out at this stage that while dealing with the concept of affiliation by the Universities to B.Ed., degree courses in the light of various provisions of the NCTE Act, a Full Bench of this Court (in which I am also a party) in W.P. No. 28304 of 2007 by judgment dated 06.10.2007, after taking note of various judgements of the Supreme Court in State of Tamil Nadu v. Adhiyaman Educational & Research Institute : (1995)4SCC104 ; Thirumuruga Kirupananda Variyar Thavathiru Sundara Swamigal Medical Educational and Charitable Trust v. State of Tamil Nadu : [1996]2SCR422 and Jaya Gokul Educational Trust v. Commissioner and Secretary to Government Higher Education Department, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala State and Anr. : [2000]2SCR1234 , held that when the concerned AICTE Act, Indian Medical Council Act and NCTE Act prescribe the manner and procedure as per Entry 66 of List I of the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution of India, the field is occupied by the Central Government, but also held that it does not mean that once the Central body grants recognition or approval, the concerned University by closing its eyes should necessarily grant affiliation, since the University owes its existence to its statutes and one cannot direct the University to disobey its own statutes by relying on the judgment of the Supreme Court in A.P. Christians Medical Educational Society v. Government of Andhra Pradesh : [1986]2SCR749 . Ultimately, the Full Bench has held that while granting affiliation, the University cannot be expected to act as a rubber stamp after the recognition or approval granted by the Central body and it has to apply its statute before granting affiliation, however, not insisting any standard or requirement, which is more than what is required by the Central authority by virtue of its powers under Entry 66 of List I of the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution of India.
32. The abovesaid cases related to Universities which were bound by their own statutory guidelines. But as far as the Director of Teacher Education is concerned, it is admitted that the State Government has not framed any guidelines or Rules and Regulations for the purpose of either granting approval for the teachers appointed by the private Management or for any other matters except periodical Government Orders issued relating to the fixation of date for the purpose of admission of students for Diploma in Teacher Education, fixation of date for approval of teachers in the said Institutions, etc. Therefore, the crucial issue to be considered is as to the role of the examining body, viz., the State Government as well as the Director of Teacher Education, Research and Training in respect of approval of Teachers. In the absence of proper guidelines framed by the State Government to follow uniform procedure in respect of the Institutions, which are granted recognition, the guidelines which are stated to be available to the State Government are only the Government Orders passed from time to time.
33. Now, it is relevant to find out as to how the said Government Orders can be treated as proper guidelines for the purpose of approval of teachers appointed by the Self Financing Non-minority Educational Institutions and for the method of inspection and for framing the Scheme of Education for the students of Diploma in Teacher Education.
34. G.O. (1D) No. 111 School Education (U1) Department dated 17.07.2003, which is the earliest one regarding the guidelines to be issued for admission of students speaks about the subjectwise admission, viz., 50% of the students should be from science discipline; 25% from arts discipline and 25% from vocational stream. That apart, it provides for the following of reservation, viz., 18% for Scheduled Castes; 1% for Scheduled Tribes; 20% for Most Backward Class; 30% for Backward Class; and 31% for Open Category. As far as the said communal reservation is concerned, the matter at large, pending before the Supreme Court. As it has been held by the Seven Judge Bench of the Supreme Court in P.A. Inamdar's case in respect of Un-aided Non-minority Institutions that such reservation cannot be insisted upon, however, in the event of the Management willing to follow the reservation, there is no bar.
35. In addition to the same, the said Government Order also contemplates for admission under Single Window System, by granting 50% to the Non-minority Self Financing Institutions and directing that the remaining 50% should be surrendered to the Government as Government quota. It is relevant to point out that in all the present cases there is no much dispute regarding the admission by Single Window System and also for surrendering a particular percentage of seats to the Government treating the remaining as Management quota for admission.
36. G.O.Ms. No. 212 Higher Education (J2) Department dated 18.07.2006 relates to the apportionment of seats between the Government and Management in respect of Unaided Engineering Colleges. G.O.(1D) No. 226 School Education (U1) Department dated 28.08.2006 relates to the admission in the Educational Institutions for the year 2006-2007 based on G.O.Ms. No. 212 dated 18.12.2006. G.O.Ms. No. 212 dated 18.12.2006 itself was issued, based on the consensus arrived at between the Management and the Government for the year 2005-2006, and regarding the said G.O., orders were passed in W.P. No. 15701 of 2006 etc. batch cases on 06.07.2006.
37. In G.O.Ms. No. 133 School Education Department dated 14.06.2007, ad hoc rules have been framed for appointment of posts (academic) in the Directorate of Teacher Education, Research and Training, District Institutes of Education and Training and Government Teacher Training Institutes in the Department of Teacher Education and Training. It is under the said Rules, the Directorate of Teacher Education, Research and Training, District Institutes of Teacher Training and Government Teacher Training Institutes have been brought within the 'Tamil Nadu Teacher Educational Service.' The said Government Order is as follows:
School Education DepartmentG.O.(Ms) No. 133 Dated: 14.06.2007Read:1. G.O.Ms. No. 748 Education, dated 04.06.19902. G.O.Ms. No. 106 School Education, dated 11.03.1997.3. G.O.Ms. No. 715 Education, dated 05.08.1912.4. G.O.Ms. No. 35 Education, dated 06.01.1934.5. G.O.Ms. No. 1410 Education, dated 11.08.1967.6. G.O.Ms. No. 1396 Education, dated 10.09.1968.7. G.O.Ms. No. 910 Education, dated 14.05.1976.8. G.O.Ms. No. 1799 Education, dated 07.12.1988.9. G.O.Ms. No. 211 School Education, dated 11.12.2001.10. G.O.(1D)No. 98 School Education, dated 13.08.1997.11. G.O.Ms. No. 80 School Education, dated 22.03.1999.12. G.O.(1D)No. 15 School Education, dated 19.1.2000.13. G.O.Ms. No. 64 School Education, dated 21.5.2002.14. G.O.Ms. No. 122 School Education, dated 06.08.2002.15. From the Director of Teacher Education, Research and Training Letter Rc. No. 0770/A1/2004 dated 03.02.2004 and 06.01.2006, 30.4.07 and 25.5.07....