HC issues contempt notice to director of school education

Dehradun: The Uttarakhand high court issued a contempt notice to the director of school education on Saturday, for failing to comply with its directive on granting a promotion pay scale to lecturers and assistant teachers who have completed 10 years of service. The officer has been directed to file an affidavit in the matter, and the next hearing is on Aug 16.
The contempt petition, filed by lecturers Prakash Singh and others from Pithoragarh district, was heard by a single bench of Justice Manoj Kumar Tiwari.
The petitioners argued that a previous order from the HC had mandated the provision of additional increments along with selection and promotion pay scale for lecturers and assistant teachers in LT grade, including Shankar Singh Bora and others.
However, the govt has yet to take a conclusive decision on the matter.
The petitioners, appointed as lecturers in 2011, claimed that after completing a decade of service, they were entitled to an additional increment along with selection pay scale as per the Uttarakhand Government Servant Pay Rules, 2016. In 2021, the govt granted selection pay scale after 10 years of service but failed to provide the additional increment.
Despite submitting a representation to state govt regarding this issue, no action was taken by the education department.
Subsequently, a petition was filed in court, which instructed the education department to decide on the representation within six weeks. However, the director of school education has not yet taken a decision in the matter.