Court gives interim relief to self-financed colleges
By IANSTuesday, May 4, 2010
GANDHINAGAR - The Gujarat High Court Tuesday provided an interim relief to 64 self-financed colleges by directing the six universities of the state to allot students to them for the BEd course term beginning 2010.
The National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) had cancelled the self-financed colleges’ recognition for non-compliance of prescribed norms and directed the universities not to allot any students to them.
The colleges challenged the decision before the appellate authority which upheld the NCTE’s decision. The colleges then sought the intervention of the high court.
The division bench of Chief Justice S.J. Mukhopadhaya and Justice Akil Kureshi Tuesday granted interim relief to the colleges on the ground that the admission process for BEd would start from this month and students should not suffer due to the pendency of the case.
Counsel for the NCTE Ashutosh Shastri contended that these institutions have not complied with the changed norms and hence their recognition was cancelled. The court wanted to know about the sudden change of norms and asked counsel to present the report of experts that was instrumental in bringing it about.
Counsel for the petitioners Yatin Oza contended that the NCTE’s order to discontinue their recognition was subject to review as the decision to implement the new norms with retrospective effect was “illegitimate”.
The division bench asked the NCTE counsel: “Did NCTE apply its mind before ordering the change? What were the findings, based on which the sudden change was made? You should know that every order has an object to achieve so what’s that object?”
The chief justice said: “We have to interpret as to what extent the change sought has to be complied with. As the institutions have given their undertaking that they would comply with the norms which is subject to change, they’re bound to do it. However, we would like to know why for past six years you did not disallow them if they did not comply with the norms.”
Earlier in 2009, a single judge of the high court had granted interim relief and allowed admission in BEd course to 60 colleges whose recognitions were cancelled by the NCTE.
