Permission of D.I. for improvement of qualification

Re: Permission from D.I.
CASE – 1
PRIOR PERMISSION REQUIRED FROM D.I. FOR ENHANCEMENT OF QUALIFICATION AND CLAIM OF FINANCIAL BENEFITS
Order passed by the Hon’ble Kolkata High Court
2569W/2011 on 14 December, 2011
Author: Jyotirmay Bhattacharya
The petitioner was appointed as an Assistant Teacher in Computer Science in a post earmarked for the Hons/PG candidates in Gajol H. N. M. High School (H.S.) on 18th September, 2008. The service of the petitioner as an Assistant Teacher in the said school was approved by the concerned District Inspector of Schools on 1st December, 2008. At the time of his appointment his educational qualification was B.Sc.(H) in Computer Science. Admittedly, he completed fourth semester in M.C.A. course even before he joined his service in the said school. With the permission granted by the managing committee of the said school, the petitioner appeared in the fifth and sixth semester examination and ultimately he came out successfully by acquiring M.C.A. degree. The resolution which was adopted by the managing committee granting him permission to appear in the fifth semester was also forwarded to the concerned District Inspector of Schools inviting him to grant permission at the earliest.
Admittedly, no permission was granted by the concerned District Inspector of Schools permitting him to appear either in the fifth or in the sixth semester of M.C.A. examination.
After enhancing educational qualification by acquiring M.C.A. degree, the petitioner prayed for a higher scale of pay for his enhanced qualification. The school authority also recommended him for grant of higher scale of pay for his enhanced qualification. Since the petitioner’s prayer for grant of higher scale of pay for his Post Graduate qualification was rejected by the concerned District Inspector of schools, the petitioner has come before this Court with this writ petition challenging the said order of the concerned District Inspector of Schools. The petitioner’s prayer for grant of higher scale of pay was rejected by the concerned District Inspector of Schools by referring to the provision of Section 14 of the West Bengal Schools (Control of Expenditure) Act, 2001 read with G.O. No. 593-SE dated 27th November, 2007.
Mr. Bari, learned Advocate, appearing for the petitioner submits that Section 14 of the West Bengal Schools (Control of Expenditure) Act, 2005 cannot stand in the way of granting higher scale of pay to the petitioner. In support of his submission, he referred to provision contained in Section 14(3) of the said Act which provides that every teacher of a school shall, if appointed in the Honours Graduate or Post Graduate teacher category, be entitled to draw pay of Post Graduate teacher category upon acquiring Post Graduate degree in the manner as may be specified by the order.
Let me now consider as to whether the petitioner acquired the said Post Graduate degree in the manner as specified by the Government order. The relevant parts of the Government Order which was issued by the Government in this regard under G.O. No. 593-SE dated 27th November, 2007 are set out hereunder :
“1. Al the teachers teaching in different State Aided Schools will have to take prior permission from the Managing Committee/Ad-hoc Committee/ Administrator as the case may be enroll themselves and to appear for any examination for enhancement of educational qualification. The Managing Committee being ‘Competent Authority’ in such cases will take a decision in its next meeting and convey its decision to the teacher concerned immediately. A copy of the decision of the Managing Committee will be forwarded to the office of the D.I. of Schools (SE) of the concerned district. 3
2. The applicant-teacher thereafter, will, if necessary, apply for Leave/Special Leave/ Study Leave as the case may be (along with the resolution of Managing Committee) to the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education (which is the Competent authority in this case) through the Managing Committee of the schools.
3. The teacher is required to seek prior permission of concerned District Inspector of Schools (SE) (only when he/she wants to claim additional increment/higher scale of pay etc. for obtaining such higher qualification) through the Managing Committee of the School.”
On combined reading of the aforesaid provisions of the Government Order, this Court is of the view that if any teacher wants to improve his qualification by enrolling himself and appearing in any examination in the higher course of studies, then he is required to seek prior permission from the managing committee of the said school. Para 1 of the said Government Order makes it clear that the managing committee is the competent authority to grant such prior permission. If such prior permission is granted by the managing committee, then the managing committee is required to forward its decision to the concerned District Inspector of Schools. The said provision is silent about the requirement of grant of prior permission by the District Inspector of Schools. The said provision, thus, makes it clear that the permission of the District Inspector of Schools is not necessary either for enrolling or for appearing in any examination for enhancement of educational qualification. But the provision contained in para 3 of the said Government Order makes it clear that when a teacher is desirous of enhancing his qualification for getting higher scale of pay or additional increment, he is required to take the prior permission from the concerned District Inspector of Schools through the managing committee of the said school.
Thus, on combined reading of the provisions contained in the para 1 & 3 of the said Government Order, it appears that if a teacher wants to improve his qualification without claiming higher scale of pay and/or additional increment he is not required to take prior permission from the concerned District Inspector of Schools, but when a teacher wants to improve his qualification with an intention to get higher scale of pay and/or additional increments, he is required to seek prior permission from the concerned District Inspector of Schools as the provision contained in para 3 of the said Government Order is attracted in such cases.
Under such circumstances, this Court holds that that the concerned District Inspector of Schools did not commit any illegality in rejecting the petitioner’s prayer for higher scale of pay for his enhanced qualification as admittedly the petitioner did not acquire the higher qualification after obtaining prior permission from the concerned District Inspector of Schools.
The writ petition, thus, deserves no merit for consideration. The writ petition, thus, stands rejected.
(Jyotirmay Bhattacharya, J.)
SOURCE: Indian Kanoon – http://indiankanoon.org/doc/113583720/
CASE – 2
PRIOR PERMISSION NOT REQUIRED FROM D.I. FOR ENHANCEMENT OF QUALIFICATION AND CLAIM OF FINANCIAL BENEFITS
Order passed by the Hon’ble Kolkata High Court
“232W/2011 on 25 July, 2011
Author: Jyotirmay Bhattacharya
The petitioner was appointed as an Assistant Teacher in normal section in Manikora High School (H.S.) in the District of Malda, as per recommendation made by the concerned School Service Commission. The appointment of the petitioner in the said school was approved by the concerned District Inspector of Schools (SE), with effect from 31st January, 2000. At the time of his appointment, the petitioner’s educational qualification was B.Sc. (Hons.) in Botany. As such he was appointed in Science and Mathematics group. The said educational qualification of the petitioner was recorded in the approval letter which is annexed to this writ petition at page 19. Though the petitioner completed the course of studies at post graduate level in the relevant subject and passed M.Sc. Part-I examination prior to his appointment in the said school but his M.Sc. Part-II examination was not held prior to his joining. He appeared in the M.Sc. Part-II examination held in March, 2000, after obtaining study leave from the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education. After acquiring the Master Degree in the relevant subject, the petitioner applied for higher scale of pay which is admissible to the Assistant teacher having Master Degree. Since such relief was not granted to the petitioner by the concerned District Inspector
of Schools (SE), the petitioner has filed the instant writ petition challenging the order passed by the concerned District Inspector of Schools by which the petitioner’s prayer for grant of higher scale of pay was rejected.
Let me now consider as to how far, the concerned District Inspector of Schools (SE) was justified in rejecting the petitioner’s prayer for grant of higher scale of pay to him for his enhanced qualification in the facts of the instant case. On perusal of the impugned order, this court finds that the petitioner’s prayer for grant of higher scale of pay was rejected by the concerned District Inspector of Schools (SE) by referring to the provision contained in West Bengal School (Control of Expenditure) Act 2005. It was held by him that since the petitioner enhanced his qualification by acquiring Master Degree in the relevant subject without taking prior permission from the concerned District Inspector of Schools (SE), he is not entitled to get post graduate scale of pay.
I have already indicated above that the petitioner acquired the Master Degree in the relevant subject in the examination held in March 2000. Since the petitioner acquired Master Degree in 2000, the concerned authority in my view, ought not, to have rejected the petitioner’s claim for grant of higher scale of pay for his enhanced qualification by relying upon the West Bengal School (Control of Expenditure) Act 2005 which had no existence at the time when the petitioner had acquired Master Degree in the relevant subject. Though the concerned District Inspector of Schools (SE) took note of the Government Order being No. 735-SE(S)/SP-132/2002 dated 3rd June, 2002 but he failed to apply the said Government Order in the facts of the instant case in the spirit of the said government order. The said Government Order makes it clear that the Honours Graduate teacher of Non-Government Aided Secondary Schools who have completed their studies at post graduate level in the subject relevant to their appointment is also entitled to get the benefit of post graduate scale of pay with effect from the date of joining or the date following the last date of examination (both theoretical and practical) whichever is later. In this case, the result of M.Sc. Part-II examination was published after the petitioner joined the said post. As such in my view the petitioner is entitled to get post graduate scale of pay from the date following the last date of examination (both theoretical and practical) in M.Sc. Part-II examination in which he appeared and came out successfully. Under such circumstances, this court holds that the impugned order cannot be allowed to be retained on record. The impugned order stands quashed. The District Inspector of Schools (SE) is thus, directed to grant post graduate scale of pay to the petitioner from the day following the last date of examination (both theoretical and practical) of M.Sc. Part-II examination in which he appeared and came out successfully.

The concerned authority is also directed to fix pay and allowances of the petitioner in post graduate scale of pay and grant him the monetary benefit accordingly.
The entire exercise in this regard including payment of arrear differential amount to the petitioner should be completed within a period of eight weeks from date of communication of this order. The writ petition is, thus, disposed of.
( Jyotirmay Bhattacharya, J )”
SOURCE: http://www.indiankanoon.org/doc/546581/?type=print
CASE – 3
PRIOR PERMISSION NOT REQUIRED FROM D.I. FOR ENHANCEMENT OF QUALIFICATION AND CLAIM OF FINANCIAL BENEFITS
Kolkata High Court (Appellete Side)
Pankaj Kumar Bhunia vs State Of West Bengal & Ors on 27 August, 2012
Author: Ashoke Kumar Dasadhikari
27.08.2012
ss W.P. 12885(W) of 2005 Pankaj Kumar Bhunia
The grievance of the writ petitioner is that, although he has improved his qualification, the respondent authorities are not granting higher scale of pay in his favour.
Mr. Bari, learned Counsel appearing for the petitioner submits that the writ petitioner improved his qualification in relevant subject and group in English on 9th March, 2000. However, the reason for denial as disclosed by the District Inspector of Schools on 28th November, 2003 is that no prior permission was taken. He submits that the reason disclosed for refusal is not legally sustainable in law and there the impugned order should be set aside.
Learned Counsel for the State appears and submits that there was direction for filing affidavit but it was not filed. However, he submits that no prior permission was taken, therefore, the decision of the District Inspector of Schools is right. Heard the learned Counsel appearing for the parties. It appears that the writ petitioner has improved his qualification on 9th March, 2000. There are Government circulars in favour of granting higher scale of pay for such improvement. The District Inspector of Schools did not consider the same but rejected higher scale of pay on the alleged plea of taking no prior permission before such improvement. There are catena of decisions by the Hon’ble Courts that no prior permission is necessary.
However, it appears that the writ petitioner was entrusted with taking classes and the school authorities as well as the students are benefited for such improvement. Accordingly, I set aside the impugned order dated 28th November, 2003 passed by the District Inspector of Schools (SE), Paschim Medinipur and direct the concerned District Inspector of Schools to release the higher scale of pay for the improved qualification with effect from the following day of last date of examination. The entire exercise is to be completed within a period of ten weeks from the date of communication of this order.
The writ petition is, thus, allowed.
(Ashoke Kumar Dasadhikari, J.)
SOURCE: http://indiankanoon.org/doc/88730251/

Re: Permission from D.I.
THERE WAS NO PROVISION FOR PERMISSION OF D.I. BEFORE 27.11.2007 FOR ENHANCEMENT OF QUALIFICATIONS & MONETARY GAIN
Like WP 232W/2011 on 25 July, 2011 in the High Court of Calcutta, there is another verdict in WP 3573W of 2012 dated the 18 June, 2012 wherein the Hon’ble High Court has made it clear that there was no provision to take prior permission of D.I. for enhancement of qualification and claim of benefits if such higher qualifications were obtained before the G.O. 593 SE dated 27th November, 2007 became effective.
“Kolkata High Court (Appellete Side)
3573W/2012 on 18 June, 2012
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Here is the case where this Court finds that the petitioner was appointed as an Assistant Teacher in mathematics subject i.e. Science group. Her appointment was approved on 10th March, 2006 in a post earmarked for Honours/Postgraduate category. She had honours degree in Mathematics at the time of her appointment. She appeared in the M.Sc. examination in Mathematics subject immediately after her appointment as an Assistant Teacher in the said school. The last date of her M.Sc. examination was 31st December, 2006. The result of the said examination was published on 4th August, 2007. Thus, this court finds that she is entitled to get higher scale of pay for her enhanced qualification as per the said Government Order dated 26th December, 2005, provided she can satisfy that she improved her qualification with prior permission of the authority competent to grant such permission. The petitioner claims that she improved her qualification after taking permission from the school authority. Admittedly she did not obtain any prior permission from the concerned District Inspector of Schools (SE). Let me now consider as to whether prior permission from District Inspector of Schools (SE) was necessary in the facts of the present case.
The concept of seeking prior permission from the concerned District Inspector of Schools (SE) was introduced for the first time by issuing the Government Order dated 27th November, 2007.
As such, this court can safely hold that the petitioner at least, was not required to seek prior permission from the concerned District Inspector of Schools (SE) before enhancing her qualification as admittedly she acquired enhanced qualification prior to issuance of the said Government Order on 27th November, 2007.
Now the question is as to who was the competent authority, at the relevant time who could have granted such prior permission.
In my view, the school authority was competent to grant such prior permission at the relevant time, as all previous Government Orders contemplated grant of prior permission by the school authority for enabling any teacher to enhance his/her qualification. The petitioner now claims that she enhanced her qualification after taking prior permission from the school authority. If that be so, then the 2005 Government Order, cannot stand in the way of granting the benefit which the petitioner claimed for his enhanced qualification.
…………………..
The Director of School Education is directed to reconsider the petitioner’s claim in the light of the observation made hereinabove and it is made clear that in the event, it is found that the petitioner enhanced her qualification with the prior permission from the school authority, the Director of School Education will grant the relief which the petitioner claimed for her enhanced qualification from the date following the last date of her M.Sc. examination.”