The Hindu : Apex court directive to Govts. on NOCs for TTIs

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Feb 09, 2003

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Apex court directive to Govts. on NOCs for TTIs

By J. Venkatesan

NEW DELHI Feb. 8. The Supreme Court has directed the State Governments, including Tamil Nadu and the Union Territories, to pass final orders within four months on the applications for grant of no-objection certificate (NOC) to start teacher training institutes.

A three-Judge Bench, comprising Justice S. Rajendra Babu, Justice D.M. Dharmadhikari and Justice G.P. Mathur, held that if no order was passed within four months it would be deemed that an NOC had been granted.

The Bench also made it clear that under the Regulation 6 (fresh regulations made by the National Council for Teacher Education on November 13, 2002), even if the NOC was not granted by the State Government/Union Territory concerned and the same was refused, the entire matter would be examined by the Regional Committee, NCTE, while taking a decision on the application for recognition.

Disposing of a batch of petitions filed by St. John's Teacher's Training Institute in Tamil Nadu and others challenging the validity of the regulations framed by the NCTE, the Bench said the grant or refusal of an NOC was not conclusive or binding and the views expressed by the State Government would be considered by the Regional Committee while taking the decision on the application.

Referring to the contentions of senior counsel for the petitioners, K. Subramanian, that the Act did not contemplate any role for the State Government, the Bench said the role of the State Government was certainly important for supplying the requisite data which was essential for formation of the opinion by the Regional Committee while taking a decision.

The Bench agreed with the contention of senior counsel for the NCTE, M.N. Krishnamani, that the object of the Act was that only such institutes which were equipped with all the necessary inputs to train and produce teachers who were capable of instilling aesthetic excellence in the life of their pupil be established and permitted to run the teacher training course.

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