Teachers’ Day Plea to CJI: Citizen Urges for Suo Motu Action on Exploitation in Private Educational Institutions

The letter, addressed as a tribute to Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, laments that while teachers once commanded reverence second only to parents, they are today reduced to “living in despair, silenced and invisible.” The plea frames the issue not just as an employment crisis but as a matter of “national interest” impacting the dignity of educators and the future of India’s youth.

The petitioner highlights that private schools, colleges, and universities routinely flout statutory mandates by UGC, AICTE, and CBSE regarding pay scales and service conditions. Teachers are denied even basic salaries, increments, and benefits such as provident fund, gratuity, or health insurance, forcing many into near destitution.

Adding to the crisis, the letter points out that most private institutions either fail to constitute Governing Bodies as required by law or treat them as rubber stamps. In practice, private trusts and societies wield unchecked control, avoiding accountability and bypassing teacher and parent representation.

In higher education, the situation is described as “deeply disturbing.” The petitioner alleges widespread misuse of public funds meant for student scholarships, ghost enrollments where students exist only on paper, and rampant examination malpractices producing graduates with degrees but no skills.

The appeal criticizes regulators such as AICTE for discontinuing inspections and shifting to “self-declarations” by institutions. According to the letter, this has created a regime of “paper colleges” lacking infrastructure, qualified faculty, and academic seriousness, while continuing to siphon public money.

The author calls this practice “a license for corruption and academic decay,” noting that unchecked profiteering undermines India’s demographic dividend.

The letter urges the Supreme Court to step in with systemic remedies, suggesting concrete measures:

-Functional governance: Ensure proper Governing Bodies with representation from regulators, universities, and teachers.

-Biometric oversight: Mandate biometric attendance of students and teachers, directly mapped to regulators.

-Exam reforms: Extend the Unfair Means in Public Examinations Act to universities with zero tolerance for malpractice.

-Annual academic accountability: Principals must file reports to affiliating universities and regulators.

-Independent leadership: Require approval of university or statutory bodies for appointments of Heads of Institutions.

-Immediate pay implementation: Enforce UGC/AICTE/CBSE scales with penalties for violations.

-Oversight of private universities: UGC inspections for those running technical courses without AICTE approval.

-Scholarship audits: Strict audits of state and central scholarship disbursements.

-Cognizable offences: Treat flouting statutory norms in education as a criminal offence.

-Reinstated inspections: Bring back physical and online inspections, with liability for false declarations.

The petitioner frames the timing as deliberate: “As the nation approaches Teachers’ Day, deciding this matter will not only render justice to lakhs of educators but also pay tribute to Dr. Radhakrishnan himself.”

Stressing the symbolic weight of Supreme Court intervention, the letter argues that recognizing teachers’ rights would safeguard the sanctity of education itself. “The guardians of justice must also stand as guardians of India’s classrooms, ensuring that the torch of knowledge is neither dimmed nor dishonored,” it concludes.

Bench: Supreme Court of India (hearing expected)