Ryan Mayur Vihar pulled up for action against teacher

Parents and the public protesting outside the gates of the Ryan International School in Gurugram (Express photo)

The Delhi School Tribunal has pulled up Ryan International School’s branch in Mayur Vihar, Phase III for “malafidely” initiating action against a teacher and pushing her towards compulsory retirement, after it accused her of submitting false birth details. The tribunal noted that the school authorities were “highly prejudiced” against the teacher.

The court said there was merit in the teacher’s argument, that the inquiry was initiated against her as she was the office bearer of Ryan International School Employees Welfare Association, and had filed writ petitions seeking directions to the management to implement recommendations of the Sixth Pay Commission.

The court noted that the teacher had joined the school in 1992, and even after three internal audits and an external audit, no problems regarding her birth certificate had been found until March 2015. The court also noted that a teacher is confirmed only after the probation period and upon verifying all records.

V K Maheshwari, presiding officer of the Delhi School Tribunal, said, “In these circumstances, there is substance in the arguments… that school had malafidely initiated action against her…” According to court records, the school conducted a human resource audit in March 2015 and allegedly found that she had not submitted birth details while joining. Subsequently, she submitted a photocopy of the provisional certificate issued by the school where she studied, showing her date of birth as 4.9.1966. This was different from the date she mentioned on a form while joining Ryan.

Ryan submitted to the tribunal that because of this “discrepancy”, they approached her school and found that her actual date of birth was 13.9.1962. A notice was served to her asking why action should not be taken, and she replied saying it was a “typographical mistake” by her school. The teacher then submitted a birth certificate prepared by the MCD sub-registrar which, after verification, certified her date of birth as 4.9.1966. However, the school went ahead with an internal inquiry and registered an FIR at Ghazipur police station.

The inquiry officer concluded that she did not forge her birth records, but “deliberately misrepresented her age”, and “her behaviour amounts to misconduct”. On this, the court said the officer disbelieved the birth certificate issued by sub-registrar on the ground that it was obtained “after commencement of legal proceedings (of the school)”. The court stated: “…entries in the municipal birth and death registrar prevail over the entries made in the school record… In view of the discussion, this tribunal is of the opinion that the finding of the inquiry officer is perverse, therefore set aside.”