Setback to 18-mth diploma and BEd holders: Ineligible for Pb ETT posts

Chandigarh: Acting on the legal opinion of the advocate general office, the Punjab education department has deemed candidates having BEd qualification and 18-month diploma in elementary education ineligible for recruitment to the posts of elementary trained teachers (ETT).
The state govt is in the process of recruiting 2,364 ETT after the Punjab and Haryana high court cleared the deck for the recruitment, which had been pending since 2020.
The AG office opined that candidates having BEd qualification instead of two years of ETT diploma course and 18-month diploma in elementary education conducted through the open and distance learning in elementary education by the National Institute of Open Schooling are not eligible for selection. It also stated that the merit list of remaining eligible candidates may be prepared by excluding the BEd candidates and aspirants having 18-month diploma through open distance learning, as per the advertisement dated March 6, 2020, including all corrigendum issued up to Nov 17, 2020. The AG office also stated that the weightage of 2/3/5 marks for higher qualification as mentioned in advertisement should not be granted to the candidates as there is no provision in the rules governing this recruitment.
“In view of the position, the education recruitment directorate is hereby directed to proceed further in light of this order to declare the result and prepare selection list of 2,364 posts of ETT cadre by June 9,” reads the order. The department initially advertised 1,664 vacancies, which were later increased to 2,364 in June 2020. The written examination was conducted on Nov 29, 2020, and the results were announced on Dec 5, 2020. The director of recruitment then prepared and released a provisional merit list through a public notice. However, this list faced legal challenges, and in Nov 2021, a single-judge bench declared both the advertisement and the results invalid.
The court pointed out that the selection criteria mentioned in the advertisement, which allocated five marks for higher educational qualifications, were fundamentally flawed.
The order was challenged in the division bench, which was quashed allowing the govt to make appointments as per the advertisement.