Even in lunch or dinner feasts, a discipline is followed with the guests taking starters like juice/soup and then proceeding to the main course before winding up with desserts. No one takes them in the reverse order. But, today, in the field of education, a student can take any course in any discipline as he likes. And the Universities permit them to undergo courses of different nature in different disciplines in different order.
They permit them to ride two horses at the same time. Consequently, quality and excellence become casualties, the Madras High Court has observed.
Justice V Ramasubramanian made the observation while dismissing a writ petition from a woman who had undergone two degree courses simultaneously (one regular and the other through distance education programme) praying for a direction to the Teacher Recruitment Board (TRB) to appoint her to the post of PG Assistant (English).
S Jagadeeswari acquired BSc degree in Physics in May, 2001. Thereafter, she pursued PG in English and completed the same in May 2003. After finding that candidates, who did different subjects at the UG and PG levels were not entitled to appointment to the post of PG Assistant (English) by virtue of a GO dated December 31, 1999, she studied BA (English Literature). She also completed B Ed course at the same time and applied for the PG Assistant’s post. However, the TRB rejected her plea on the ground that simultaneous dual degree courses were invalid. Hence, the challenge.
Dismissing the petition, Justice Ramasubramanian observed that it was well settled that the right of the employer to prescribe certain standards for appointment to various posts was not curtailed either by the fact that today the Universities offered a variety of courses as in a buffet spread in a restaurant or by the fact that the institutions recognised all kinds of degrees acquired not necessarily in the chronological order.
The TRB had taken a decision and the same had been accepted by the employer, the government, that they would not appoint such persons as teachers. “Unless this decision is found to be arbitrary or illegal or violative of the statutory or Constitutional rights, I cannot issue a mandamus as prayed for. Therefore, the stand taken by the TRB and the government not to accept the candidature of persons, who had undergone two different degrees simultaneously, is perfectly in order and I have no reason to interfere with the same,” the judge said and dismissed the petition.