Assam: Gauhati HC directs equal pay consideration for non-teaching staff in venture institutes

Guwahati: A division bench of the Gauhati High Court, comprising Chief Justice Ashutosh Kumar and Justice Arun Dev Choudhury, has ruled that non-teaching staff working in government-recognised venture educational institutions in Assam deserve equal treatment under the law, similar to other government employees.

In its order, the court emphasized that these staff members should receive a "just scale of pay." However, the bench clarified that it would not define what constitutes the "just scale" and left that determination to the appropriate authorities.

The judgment came while hearing four writ petitions jointly challenging specific provisions of the Assam Education (Provincialisation of Services of Non-teaching Staff of Venture Educational Institutions) Act, 2018.

The petitioners include non-teaching personnel employed in colleges, higher secondary schools, senior secondary schools, high schools, and high madrassas across Assam.

The court relied on the same legal principle it had previously applied in a case where it directed authorities to provide regular pay scales to tutors in recognised venture schools, provided the tutors had obtained the necessary qualifications within the stipulated period.

Following the ruling, the bench directed the Assam Education Department to determine and assign a fair pay scale for the non-teaching staff within eight weeks.