Calcutta High Court (Appellete Side)
Sushmita Mitra vs The State Of West Bengal & Ors on 5 May, 2022
Author: Abhijit Gangopadhyay
Bench: Abhijit Gangopadhyay
05.05.2022
Item No.7
Ct. No.17
S.A.
W.P.A. 16853 of 2021
Sushmita Mitra
-vs-
The State of West Bengal & Ors.
Mr. Anjan Bhattacharya
...for the petitioner
Mr. Bidhan Biswas
...for the respondent no.9
This is an application for transfer of the petitioner from her present school in Hingalganj to any other school nearer to her residence. She has a small child of five years of age. As no objection was not given to her by the school, I called the Secretary of the School who happens to be the Sub-Inspector of Schools of North 24 Parganas Hingalganj South Circle.
The said Sub-Inspector namely Samsuddin Laskar has appeared before me and has submitted that the school was established in 2009 but presently for last 2-3 years, the number of students in the school which is a Junior High School has dwindled considerably and in 2022 i.e. in this year there is no student in the school who can be taught by the only teacher i.e. the petitioner. This Junior High School has four divisions of classes i.e. Class V, Class VI, Class VII and Class VIII. A single teacher who is of Social Science group (History teacher) cannot teach 2 the four classes even if students are there. The only other teacher was transferred from the school two years back i.e. in the year 2020. He was a teacher of Bio Science. In 2020, there were 10 students in the school. In 2021 there were 8 students in the school and in 2022 there is no student in the school.
On the other hand, the petitioner submits that after birth of her son five years back, she has to stay in her in-law's house in Barasat. It is very difficult for her, almost impossible, to travel to the school in Hingalganj for which she has to cross three rivers besides facing other problems of conveyance.
When there is no student in 2022 in the school, there cannot be any reason for keeping the petitioner as a teacher in the school. As even if she is not transferred and she is in the school, she would not be able to teach students of four classes as aforesaid single handedly. There is no other teacher. Nobody knows when the other teachers would join the school.
The Sub-Inspector of Schools has intimated this court that they tried locally to engage teachers in the present school by issuing advertisement but got no response even from the local people. Such advertisement was published in the year 2021.
Considering the facts and circumstances of the case, I think that no objection has to be issued to the petitioner so that she can be transferred to any other school as has been selected by her in Utsashree 3 portal. Nobody will be benefited if the petitioner is kept attached to the present school as because there is no student and further even if some students come in different classes, she would not be able to teach them single handedly. In the circumstances, it is better that the petitioner is to be transferred from the present school to another after getting no objection immediately from the school and uploading it in the Utsashree portal. The other school will get her service as a teacher.
I direct the Secretary of the school who happens to be the Sub-Inspector of Schools as aforesaid to issue no objection to the petitioner by tomorrow and to upload the same in the Utsashree portal so that the transfer application can be forwarded to the next authorities for her transfer.
The Sub-Inspector has intimated this court that if this school is merged with the nearest Junior High School, the local students who could be taught in this school has to travel nearly 3.5 kms for reaching the school. Therefore, when one school has been established and when there were students though presently there is none and when the Government is trying to give benefit to the local students by establishing the present school namely Madhabkati Ramapur Junior High School, the Education Department, more specifically the Commissioner of School Education and the School Service Commission 4 jointly should take appropriate steps so that total strength of teachers are appointed in the school as it has been stated by the said Sub-Inspector who is the Secretary in recent past, the students are going to another school leaving the present school. The primary reason must be the dearth of teacher. When there were students, I am told, the mid-day meals were served to the students of this school, presently for want of students there is no question of serving mid-day meals to the students. Therefore, I direct the Commissioner of School Education to call a meeting of the School Managing Committee and the School Service Commission within a period of four weeks from the date of communication of this order to explore the way for appointing teachers in the school. The Sub-Inspector has stated before this court that from the Primary Section at least 14 students, in all likelihood will take admission in the school in the next year i.e. 2023. The said Sub-Inspector who is the Secretary of the school has already talked to the Teacher in-charge of the primary school. But this is only an expectation. Which guardian will send his/her son/daughter to a school which has only one teacher for four classes? The words of the Secretary of the school are nothing but some hollow words stated before this court for the reasons best known to him.
The matter is not disposed of. It will appear in the list on 23rd June, 2022 for a report from the 5 Commissioner of School Education as to the appointment of teachers in this school.
After uploading of the 'no objection', the application for transfer of the petitioner will be sent immediately to the District Inspector of Schools and the District Inspector of Schools shall take immediate steps by seven days from the date of forwarding of this application to the School Service Commission and the School Service Commission will take immediate steps by ten days from the date of receipt of such application forwarded by the District Inspector of School and to transfer the petitioner to any of the schools she has selected. Her application in the Utsashree portal was made first on 21st August, 2021 and the next application has been filed on 12th April, 2022. Here date of application is not relevant as there is no student in the school, the question of single teacher in this particular case does not arise. A teacher is in two sense of the term 'a teacher', one is when he/she has students to teach, the other is when he legally holds the post of a teacher. In the present case only a vacancy of teacher is occupied by the petitioner and she has no student to teach in the school. Therefore, the question of single teacher does not arise in this case. The petitioner is not performing his duty of a teacher for want of students.
With the above observation and direction, this writ application is adjourned till 23rd June, 2022. 6
Nobody has appeared for the State in this matter. I engage Mr. Supriyo Chattopadhyay in this matter as an advocate for the State who will communicate this order to the Commissioner of School Education and to the Chairman of the School Service Commission by tomorrow and I direct the Secretary of the School who happens to be the Sub- Inspector of Schools to make the other Managing Committee members of the shcool aware about this order.
Engagement of Mr. Supriyo Chottopadhyay Advocate be regularized.
Personal appearance of the Secretary of the school who is the Sub-Inspector of Schools of that area is dispensed with as of now.
The petitioner is directed to serve a complete copy of the writ application upon Mr. Supriyo Chattopadhyay in course of the day.
(Abhijit Gangopadhyay, J.)