DEO cannot suspend teacher of aided school: Bench

Madurai,Feb 8 (PTI): The Madras High Court bench has ruled that a District Educational officer cannot suspend a teacher of an aided school when the school committee was functioning. Justice V Ramasubramanian set aside the Usilampati DEO's order, suspending a teacher allegedly involved in a criminal case and detained by police, saying the Director of Education also could not delegate his powers to the DEO and permit him to suspend the teacher of an aided school. Even assuming as per the Government Order,the director had power to suspend the teacher, he alone could have passed such an order and could not sub-delegate his power to the DEO. "Therefore the order of suspension by the DEO was illegal." The appointing authority for the post of a teacher is the school committee, which had sole power of suspension, he said. Petitioner V Dhasekaran, a teacher of a Higher Secondary school in Usilampatti, had challenged the order suspending him for his alleged involvement in a criminal case. The Judge said only under two circumstances could a person other than school committe/Educational agency get power to suspend the teacher - when a special officer (DEO)is appointed to the school due to problem among committee members and when interim arrangement is made due to some civil dispute regarding the aided school. The judge said the power to suspend a teacher vested with the school committee under Private school act. The committee had not delegated the power to government or director or DEO, the judge said. PTI SSN APR APR