Selection into unaided posts with prescribed pay scales precludes appointment as Shikshan Sevaks on consolidated honorarium.

The Petitioners, all B.Ed. graduates who cleared the Teachers’ Aptitude and Intelligence Test (TAIT), were selected through the Pavitra Portal for appointment as Assistant Teachers in the unaided Secondary Schools of the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC).

The General Merit List explicitly categorized them under "unaided" posts with a specific pay scale (S-14: Rs. 38,600–1,22,800).

However, on 20.06.2024, the Corporation issued appointment orders designating them as "Shikshan Sevaks" on a consolidated monthly honorarium of Rs. 18,000 for a three-year probationary period.

The Petitioners challenged this, arguing that the Shikshan Sevak scheme is inapplicable to unaided establishments.

Government Resolution (GR) dated 26.04.2006, which mandates that the Shikshan Sevak scheme applies only to 100% grant-in-aid schools, whereas unaided or partially aided schools must appoint Assistant Teachers in the regular pay band.

GR dated 13.10.2000, which introduced the Shikshan Sevak scheme as an interim measure for aided schools.

A contract contrary to statutory provisions or law constitutes "contracting out" and is void, especially when executed under unequal bargaining power.

The Court observed that the advertisement and the General Merit List specifically designated the Petitioners as Assistant Teachers for Standards 9th and 10th with an approved pay scale.

The Deputy Director of Education had already clarified to the PCMC that the Shikshan Sevak scheme is inapplicable to its unaided schools.

The Court rejected the Corporation’s defense of "waiver," noting that the Petitioners—young, unemployed individuals from rural backgrounds—lacked bargaining power and were compelled to sign cyclostyled undertakings under duress to secure employment.

The Court characterized the Corporation’s act of altering the appointment terms after selection as "pulling a fast one" and unethical for a model employer.

The Court quashed the designation of "Shikshan Sevak" and directed the Commissioner of PCMC to issue fresh appointment orders as "Assistant Teachers" in the S-14 pay band, effective retrospectively from the original date of appointment (21.06.2024).

The Corporation was ordered to pay the differential salary (after adjusting the Rs. 18,000 already paid) within 45 days, failing which it would attract 5% simple interest per annum.