MP High Court Dismisses Guest Faculty's Appeal Over Performance-Based Dismissal, Says There Has To Be Some Accountability

The Madhya Pradesh High Court has dismissed an appeal preferred by guest faculty teachers who were removed from their positions based on the results of students. The court upheld the dismissal, stating that maintaining educational standards through performance benchmarks was justified and necessary.

The Division Bench comprising Justice Anand Pathak and Justice Hirdesh sitting at Gwalior, examined the policy directives issued by the Directorate of Public Instructions. According to these directives, guest faculty teachers whose students results are below 30% were subject to dismissal as part of a broader policy aimed at ensuring educational accountability.

The bench observed, "In the educational system, there has to be some accountability of teachers, especially guest faculty teachers who are not in regular jobs. They are also required to perform better to ameliorate the lives of students. They are nation builders."

The appeal was filed under Section 2(1) of the Madhya Pradesh Uchcha Nyayalaya (Khand Nyay Peeth Ko Appeal) Adhiniyam, 2005 by Deepak Kumar Jain and others and it challenged the earlier order of a single-judge bench, which had dismissed their writ petition seeking reinstatement after their removal for achieving results below 30% in their respective schools.

The case was regarding the legitimacy of the State Government's instruction for 2024-25, which involved the removal of guest faculty teachers if student performance fell below 30%. The Appellants had been serving as Guest Faculty in their schools for almost 10 years and now were losing their jobs because of the instruction. The appellants stated that while their students originally performed below the 30% threshold but subsequent supplementary examinations witnessed an increase to 40%. They argued that this improvement should have been considered, and that their dismissal was consequently unjustified.

The State's counsel opposed the petitioner, citing a circular dated July 24, 2024, with detailed instructions. Clause 3.1.2 states that Guest Faculty teachers with a result below 30% will not be considered for continuation. In accordance with this, another direction was given in the form of an order dated 22-05-2024, which reinforced the spirit. In short, appellants with results below 30% could not have been considered.

The court further discussed that the guest faculty teachers had not met the prescribed performance benchmark, and as such, no interference with the State's decision was warranted. “Therefore, prescription of performance was just and proper and if appellants did not match the benchmark then no case for interference is made out. They have to contemplate their working.” Therefore, the court held that the appeal was found to be devoid of merit and dismissed it.

Case title: Deepak Kumar Jain And Others Versus The State Of Madhya Pradesh And Others

Case no: WRIT APPEAL No. 2096 of 2024

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