Ms. Huidrom Debala Devi & ors. vs The State of Manipur & ors.

Heard Shri N. Mahendra, the learned counsel appearing for the petitioners; Smt. Th. Sobhana, the learned Government Advocate appearing for the State respondents; Shri I. Denning, the learned counsel appearing for the MPSC; Shri Phungyo Zingkhei, the learned counsel appearing for the Manipur University and Shri H. Suraj, the learned counsel appearing on behalf of Shri A. Bimol, the learned counsel for the UGC. None is present for the respondent No. 6.

The subject matter in issue relates to a question as to whether the terms "M.A (Education)" and "M.Ed." are equivalent degrees or in other words, are one and the same as qualifications for appointment to the posts of Assistant Professor in Education. By the instant writ petition, the petitioner has prayed for a direction to the respondent No. 3, the Manipur Public Service Commission (hereinafter referred to as "the MPSC") to prepare a fresh list of 38 qualified candidates, on the

basis of the written test held on 27-10-2015, for Personality Test to be held for direct recruitment to 18 vacant posts of Assistant Professor in the discipline of Education pursuant to the Advertisement dated 15-11-2014 issued by the MPSC. 3. 1. According to the petitioners, the MPSC issued an Advertisement dated 15-11-2014 inviting applications from amongst the eligible candidates for appointment to the posts of Assistant Professors in various disciplines including that of Education and the essential qualifications prescribed at (i) thereof are that "good academic record, with at least 55% marks (or an equivalent grade in a point scale wherever grading system is followed) at the Master''s Degree level and qualified in the National Eligibility Test (NET) or accredited test (State Level Eligibility Test-SLET/ SET)". In response to the said advertisement, the petitioners being M.A. (Education) Degree holders applied for the said posts of Assistant Professor in the discipline of Education, for which Admit Cards were issued to them.

3.2. The Screening Test was held on 27-10-2015 and the petitioners learnt from the reliable sources that in the said Screening Test for appointment to the posts of Assistant Professor in Education, the MPSC had accepted the candidature of those candidates who are not holders of M.A. (Education) Degree but holders of M.Ed. Degree only. The MPSC issued a Notification dated 03-12-2015 notifying Roll Numbers of those candidates who qualified for the Personality Test on the basis of the result of the written examination held on 27-10-2015. The petitioners further learnt that as many as 11 candidates out of 38 candidates notified to be qualified for personality test, were the candidates with M.Ed. qualification only and not with M.A. (Education) and the petitioners were able to identify the name of the respondent No. 6 being one of the said 11 candidates. Immediately after the said notification dated 03-12-2015 having been issued by the MPSC, the instant writ petition came to be filed by the petitioners on the inter-alia ground that the terms "M.A. (Education)) and "M.Ed." are two different degrees or for that matter, are different qualifications and cannot be treated as equivalent.

The stand of the State Government as indicated in their affidavit filed on 25-07-2016 is that a requisition for filling up 285 vacant posts of Assistant Professor, in respect of various disciplines, was made and pursuant thereto, the MPSC issued a notification dated 15-11-2014 inviting applications from amongst the eligible candidates. The process of recruitment for appointment to the posts of Assistant Professor being within the ambit of the MPSC, the State Government has nothing to do with them including the Screening Test and Personality Test of the candidates and it is the sole authority of the MPSC to conduct the recruitment process. On the other hand, the stand of the MPSC as reflected in its affidavit dated 21-10-2016 is that it is the State Government which is competent to decide as to whether M.Ed. degree is an essential qualification for appointment to the post of Assistant Professor in Education as prescribed in the UGC Regulations, 2010 and for that purpose, the MPSC addressed a letter dated 17-10-2015 to the Commissioner, Higher Education, Manipur to convey the decision of the State Government as to whether Master''s Degree in Education was equivalent to M.Ed. Degree with NET in Education or not. However, no response was received from their end till 26-10-2015 and in view thereof, those candidates possessing M.Ed. Degree with NET in Education were provisionally admitted for the Screening Test held on 27-10-2015 subjected to their eligibility for the post being found in accordance with the eligibility criteria to be decided by the State Government. As many as 119 candidates appeared in the Screening Test held on 27-10-2015 and since the State Government failed to give any reply thereto as aforesaid, the MPSC decided to hold the Viva-Voce, for all the candidates qualified in the Screening Test, which was, in fact, held from 11-01-2016 onwards. Despite repeated reminders being given to the State Government, the MPSC did not receive any reply from it. The Manipur University did file its affidavit wherein it is stated that as per Chapter 39 of the UGC Recommended Syllabus of Education at Para 3.0, "Education as an academic discipline" and "Education as preparation of teachers and other professionals for service in the field" are two distinct streams of courses in Education. It is further stated that besides the aforesaid distinction, the Departmental meeting of Education Department, Manipur University in its meeting held on 31-10-2015 resolved that M.A. (Education) is Master of Arts in Education and M.Ed. is Master of Education and both are not equivalent. M.A. (Education) is purely academic whereas M.Ed. is professional and their apex bodies are also different. These two courses are different and being different streams of the discipline of education, they cannot be taken at par.

The specific contentions of Shri N. Mahendra, the learned counsel appearing for the petitioners are that the degree of M.A. (Education) and that of M.Ed. are two distinct streams of courses in education and that the essential qualifications notified in the advertisement dated 15-11-2014 are to be construed and interpreted in terms of the essential qualifications prescribed in the UGC Guidelines, 2010 in respect of Assistant Professor in Arts, Humanities, Social Sciences, Commerce, Education etc. wherein the essential qualification provided is the good academic record as defined by the concerned University with at least 55% at the Master''s Degree level in a relevant subject from an Indian University. In order to support his contention, he has relied upon the decision rendered by the Hon''ble Supreme Court in Dr. Prit Singh Vs. S.K. Mangal & ors., reported in 1993 Suppl. (1) SCC 714 wherein the validity of the appointment of the appellant therein was challenged on the ground that on the date of appointment, the appellant did not possess the requisite qualifications. The Hon''ble High Court held that on the date of appointment, the appellant did not possess the requisite qualification and as such, his appointment had to be quashed. When the appeal came up before the Hon''ble Supreme Court, the stand of the appellant was that he possessed the requisite qualifications and that the term "Master''s Degree" should include even the Master''s Degree in Education (M.ED.). Dismissing the appeal, the Hon''ble Supreme Court held: "10. As a first impression this argument is attractive especially because the qualifications aforesaid simply speak of "Master''s Degree"; they do not say Master of Arts Degree. It is well known that after B.A. Examination a person has to pursue studies for two years for obtaining Master''s Degree in Arts (M.A.) whereas after passing B.A. Examination any person interested in professional side of the education, may become B.Ed. after completing the course for one year. Similarly for M.Ed. (Master of Education Degree) the course is of one year only. In this background the question which has to be answered is as to whether when the aforesaid qualification required for the post of Principal is "Master''s Degree", whether it shall include Master of Education Degree also.

It need not be pointed out that the Degree of Master of Arts is an academic qualification, whereas Degree of Master of Education is a professional qualification. According to us, when the qualifications required "a consistently good academic record with first or high second class (55% marks/grade B in the seven point scale) Master''s Degree in any subject"; it shall mean an academic qualification like Master of Arts. The said requirement was prescribed with "a consistently good academic record". That Master''s Degree shall mean Degree of Master of Arts in any subject, is apparent also from the fact that apart from that degree the candidate was required to possess also "Degree in Education" which will mean B.Ed. or M.Ed. Normally if the expression "Master''s Degree" was to include even the Master''s Degree in Education (M.Ed.) there was no necessity or prescribing the third requirement of a "Degree in Education".

If the claim of the appellant that "Master''s Degree" shall include a Degree of Master of Education, is accepted, it will lead to an anomalous position. A person having secured third division in M.A. who cannot be considered by any University even for the post of Lecturer, will become qualified for being appointed as a Principal of any College, if later he secures a high second class marks in M.Ed. Examination by completing a course of one year. It need not be pointed out that the sole object of prescribing qualification that the candidate must have a consistently good academic record with first or high second class Master''s Degree for appointment to the post of a Principal, is to select a most suitable person in order to maintain excellence and standard of teaching in the institution apart from administration. In the present case there is no dispute that in the Master of Arts Examination, the appellant secured only 47.1% marks which is not even a second division. We were informed that in the concerned University, second division is 50% and above. The appellant had not secured even second class marks in his Master of Arts Examination whereas the requirement was first or high second class (55%). The irresistible conclusion is that on the relevant date the appellant did not possess the requisite qualifications".

It is surprising to note that the State Government and the MPSC do not take a specific stand as regards the issue as to whether the terms "M.A. (Education)" and "M.Ed." are one and the same as a qualification for appointment to the posts of Assistant Professor except shifting responsibility upon each other. It is unfortunate that the State Government, without taking any decision as regards the issue as aforesaid, made the requisition and pursuant thereto, the MPSC, in turn, blindly issued the advertisement without applying its mind to the repercussion that might arise and had, in fact, arisen in the present case. It is not in dispute that the essential qualifications

for appointment to the post of Assistant Professors are prescribed in the UGC Guidelines, 2010 which are binding upon the State Government but when the essential qualifications were notified in the advertisement dated 15-11-2014, the words "in a relevant subject" after the words "Master''s Degree level" were omitted. It is not clear as to whether it was a deliberate omission for a purpose or not. Be that as it may, it is evident from the affidavit filed on behalf of the Manipur University that both the said degrees are not equivalent. M.A. (Education) is purely academic whereas M.Ed. is professional and they cannot be taken at par. The stand of the Manipur University is substantiated by the decision of the Hon''ble Supreme Court, referred to herein above, wherein it has been clearly and vividly held that the Degree of Master of Arts is an academic qualification, whereas the Degree of Master in Education is a professional qualification and when the qualifications required "a consistently good academic record with first or high second class (55% marks/ Grade-B in the seven point scale) Master''s Degree in any subject", it shall mean an academic qualifications- like Master of Arts. Moreover, the clause 4.4.7(ii)(a) of the UGC Guidelines, 2010, as has been submitted by the learned counsel appearing for the petitioners, makes it very clear that Master''s Degree in Arts and M.Ed. are different. For appointment of Assistant Professors in respect of faculty positions in the regulations of NCTE, the requisite qualifications are- one, a Master''s Degree in Science/ Humanities/ Arts with 50% marks and two, M.Ed. with at least 55% marks. M.Ed. is shown to be common for all the disciplines and in case M.A. (Education) and M.Ed. are deemed or considered to be one and the same, there is no need of prescribing both the degrees

separately as qualifications. In view of the above and in particular, the law laid down by the Hon''ble Supreme Court in the case cited herein above, this court is of the view that the good academic record at the Master''s Degree level as mentioned in the essential qualifications notified vide advertisement dated 15-11- 2014 shall mean the Master of Arts in Education [(M.A. (Education)] and not the Master of Education (M.Ed.) and therefore, the candidates possessing M.A. (Education) only are eligible for appointment to the post of Assistant Professor in the discipline of Education.

For the reasons stated herein above, the instant writ petition is allowed with the direction that the final result of the recruitment process for appointment to the posts of Assistant Professor in the discipline of Education, pursuant to the advertisement dated 15-11-2014, shall be declared by the MPSC after taking into account the observations made herein above. There shall be no order as to costs.