Teachers Who Completed 18‑Month D.El.Ed. Before April 2019 Are Valid Diploma Holders, Supreme Court Directs States to Consider Recruitment

A bench of Justices B.R. Gavai and Augustine George Masih heard an appeal against a Division Bench judgment of the Calcutta High Court which had affirmed a Single Judge’s direction excluding holders of the 18‑month D.El.Ed. (ODL) issued by NIOS from recruitment under the West Bengal Board of Primary Education (WBBPE) recruitment process notified in September 2022.

The Court allowed the appeal, quashed the impugned High Court judgments and dismissed the writ petition. It held that the NCTE recognition order of 22 September 2017 and related Central Government steps had created a one‑time scheme to enable in‑service untrained elementary teachers to acquire minimum qualifications before 1 April 2019, and that those who were in employment as on 10 August 2017 and who completed the 18‑month D.El.Ed. (ODL) through NIOS before 1 April 2019 must be treated as valid diploma holders for purposes of applying to other institutions and for promotional avenues. The Court noted that the 18‑month course had been reduced “so as to ensure compliance” with the amended RTE timeline and observed that the scheme was not intended to equate the 18‑month course generally with the regular two‑year qualification. The Court, in its reasoning, observed: “56. In view of what has been held by this Court hereinabove, we find that the High Court erred in holding that 18 months Diploma conducted by NIOS through ODL mode is equivalent to the 2 years regular Diploma, particularly so, when there was no material placed on record to even remotely hold that such a qualification was recommended by the Expert Body NCTE. On the contrary, the communication dated 6th September 2019 of NCTE, the directives of MHRD so also the recognition order dated 22nd September 2017 clearly go on to show that the 18 months Diploma was provided as a one time window to the in‑service teachers to acquire the minimum qualifications between the 2017 Amendment Act and the outer limit of 1st April 2019. In our considered view, the High Court has totally erred in holding that the 2 years Diploma is equivalent to 18 months Diploma.”

Background

The dispute arose from statutory and regulatory steps taken after Parliament amended the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 by the 2017 Amendment, which required in‑service untrained elementary teachers to acquire prescribed minimum qualifications by 31 March 2019. The NCTE, as academic authority under Section 23 RTE, had prescribed D.El.Ed. as a two‑year programme in the 2014 Regulations. To implement the amended timeline, the NCTE on 22 September 2017 granted recognition and prescribed an 18‑month D.El.Ed. (ODL) through NIOS (via SWAYAM) as a limited measure for in‑service teachers, subsuming the six‑month internship within 18 months. Large numbers of in‑service teachers registered for that scheme.

The appellants completed the 18‑month NIOS programme and later applied against the WBBPE recruitment notification dated 29 September 2022. Opposing candidates challenged recognition of the 18‑month NIOS qualification for fresh recruitment, contending that the two‑year D.El.Ed. remained the minimum qualification for appointment. A Single Judge of the Calcutta High Court, relying on this Court’s earlier judgment in Jaiveer Singh, directed WBBPE to exclude 18‑month NIOS holders from recruitment; a Division Bench affirmed. The appellants sought special leave.

At the Supreme Court hearing, appellants’ senior counsel contended that those who were in employment as on 10 August 2017 and who completed the 18‑month NIOS course before 31 March 2019 were entitled to parity with two‑year diploma holders for continuity in service, promotions and applications elsewhere. Respondent counsel submitted that the 18‑month relief was a limited corrective measure and that fresh recruits or those outside the cut‑off could not claim equivalence; he conceded that applicants who met recruitment criteria including TET could be considered after verification.

The Court reviewed Jaiveer Singh and subsequent clarifications, including a December 2024 order which had clarified that “the 18 months diploma obtained by such persons, who were in employment as on 10.08.2017 and who have completed the diploma course of 18 months, would be treated as valid diploma holders for the purpose of applying in other institutions or for promotional avenues.” Applying those principles, the Court quashed the High Court orders, dismissed W.P.A. No. 16118 of 2023 and directed respondent authorities to consider and, after eligibility verification, appoint eligible applicants who were in service on 10 August 2017 and completed the 18‑month course before 1 April 2019 within three months.

Case Details: Case No.: 2025 INSC 448 (Arising out of SLP(C) No. 19139 of 2024) Case Title: KOUSIK DAS & ORS. v. STATE OF WEST BENGAL & ORS. Appearances: For the Petitioner(s): Shri Gopal Sankaranarayanan, Senior Counsel; Smt. Vibha Datta Makhija, Senior Counsel For the Respondent(s): Shri Jaideep Gupta, Senior Counsel