Supreme Court Requests Government Feedback on National Welfare Scheme for Private School Teachers
The Supreme Court of India has issued notices to the Union government and individual states in response to a petition advocating for a nationwide welfare scheme for private school teachers. The petition, titled Ligimol George v. Union of India & Ors., was presented before a judicial bench consisting of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta on Thursday.
Filed by Ligimol George, the National Coordinator of the All India Teachers Federation, the petition highlights the significant role private school teachers play in India’s educational framework while pointing out the lack of a dedicated statutory mechanism for their welfare. The petitioner argues for the creation of a National Private School Teachers Welfare Board, or a similar institutional body, to oversee and implement welfare measures consistently across all states.
The current legislative framework, including the Employees’ State Insurance Act, the Employees’ Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, the Payment of Gratuity Act, and the Code on Social Security, 2020, is described in the petition as providing fragmented and limited protection to these educators. The protections available are often contingent upon specific eligibility criteria and vary significantly between states.
Utilizing data from the UDISE+ 2023-24 report, the petition underscores the issue’s magnitude, noting that 37,30,047 teachers are employed in recognized private unaided schools nationwide. The petition further points out that many private school teachers are hired under temporary, contractual, ad hoc, fixed-pay, or annually renewable conditions, leaving them without secure pensions, adequate medical aid, insurance, disability benefits, or other essential post-retirement securities.
The lack of uniformity in welfare protection across states leads to disparities among teachers who perform similar roles, a point strongly emphasized in the petition. The call for a national framework aims to address these gaps, ensuring consistent and equitable treatment for all private school teachers in India.
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The petition has been filed through advocate Deepak Prakash, and the Supreme Court’s notice seeks responses from the concerned government bodies to deliberate on establishing a comprehensive welfare system for private school educators.
