Orissa HC stays retired persons' appointment as guest teachers, lecturers

Bhubaneswar, Sep 30 (UNI) The Orissa High Court stayed till the next hearing the operation of a state government notification providing for the appointment of retired persons as guest teachers and lecturers in educational institutions.

A division bench of Justice R K Patnaik passed the interim order while hearing a batch of petitions challenging the government's decision to appoint retired persons without following a regular recruitment process and allegedly denying opportunities to eligible unemployed youths. The court also directed the state government to file its response and posted the matters for further hearing on October 12.

The petitions, filed by Pushpalata Majhi and others, challenge the appointment of retired teachers and lecturers as guest faculty in various government and aided educational institutions. The petitioners contended that such appointments without a regular recruitment process were illegal and violated Supreme Court directions, National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) regulations and UGC guidelines.

They also claimed that the retired teachers and lecturers did not possess the requisite educational qualifications. Several petitions were filed before the High Court in 2025 and 2026 opposing the government's decision and seeking opportunities for unemployed, qualified youths through regular recruitment.

The issue gained further significance after the Higher Education Department initiated the process for engaging retired persons as guest lecturers in 488 and 662 private aided colleges and Sanskrit colleges. The petitioners have sought recruitment of eligible candidates through the State Selection Board instead of appointing retired persons as guest lecturers. Advocate Saubhagya Swain appeared for petitioner Pushpalata Majhi.

UNI MK ATP ARN