TNR News Network
Shimla:
In a significant judgment, the Himachal Pradesh High Court has directed the state government to regularise outsourced computer teachers working in government schools, offering much-awaited relief to hundreds of educators.
Justice Satyen Vaidya, while hearing petitions filed by Manoj Kumar Sharma and others, ruled in favour of the teachers and instructed the education department to initiate and complete the regularisation process within 12 weeks. The court also stated that the teachers would be entitled to all associated benefits, effective from 2016, the year the petitions were originally filed.
Long wait for recognition finally ends
Approximately 1,300 computer teachers have been working in Himachal’s government senior secondary schools on an outsourced basis, many of them for over two decades. These teachers, although performing core academic duties, were employed through private agencies hired by the state to provide computer education since 2001-02.
Despite their long tenure, they were never brought under the regular service framework, unlike their counterparts hired under PTA, PAT and GIA categories, who were later regularised.
The court acknowledged the prolonged struggle of these teachers and criticised the state government’s inaction, which left the judiciary with no choice but to intervene using its writ jurisdiction.
Missed opportunities and age discrimination
The petitioners argued that their services were being overlooked despite changes in recruitment rules. In 2016, the state created a separate cadre for PGT (Informatics Practices) and amended recruitment guidelines to require five years of teaching experience. Although recruitment was announced, the process was later shelved without explanation.
In 2024, the government sought to fill 769 posts of Computer Science lecturers, but many of the petitioners — now overage due to years of wait — were left out. This, they claimed, amounted to unfair exclusion despite meeting experience requirements and serving the state diligently for years.
Taking into account the facts and the teachers’ long-standing contribution, the high court stated that these professionals had been unfairly denied their rightful status and benefits. The court emphasised that the state’s failure to act could no longer justify delays in granting them permanent positions.
The education department has now been instructed to complete the regularisation process within three months and to ensure that the petitioners receive all service-related benefits from the retrospective date of 2016.
