Supreme Court Orders Jharkhand To Reserve Half Of Teacher Posts For Para-Teachers On Set Timeline

Overview

• The Supreme Court bench, delivering its ruling Thursday, directed Jharkhand to notify 50% of assistant teacher and sahayak acharya vacancies exclusively for para-teachers within four weeks.
• The Court instructed the state to complete hiring in ten weeks with merit lists and appointment orders issued under the 2012 recruitment rules and the 2022 sahayak acharya cadre rules.
• The judgment refused judicial regularisation and said long service on contract does not create a right to a permanent post because that would bypass lawful recruitment norms.
• The bench held that equal pay is not automatic for para-teachers and requires proof that their duties, qualifications, accountability, and service conditions match regular teachers.
• The Court criticized ad-hoc hiring, urged performance audits, and noted many para-teachers have taught 5–15 years on low honoraria under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, stressing that job security supports better classroom outcomes.