Gwalior: In a significant relief to thousands of educators, the Madhya Pradesh High Court has directed the state government to extend Old Pension Scheme (OPS) benefits to approximately 99,000 teachers recruited between 1998 and 2005, IANS reported on November 7. The Gwalior bench also ordered the transfer of funds from their National Pension System (NPS) accounts to the OPS.

Source: IANS via HiIndia

The ruling came from a bench of Justice Anand Singh Bahrawat while hearing a petition filed by teacher Karuna Sharma. The court held that teachers whose earlier service has already been recognised for seniority and promotion cannot be denied pensionary benefits on the same grounds.

Source: IANS via HiIndia

Shiksha Karmis, the 2018 merger and the NPS switch

These teachers were initially appointed as Shiksha Karmis through panchayats and urban local bodies between 1998 and 2003. After the cadre merger in 2018, the state government treated the merger as a fresh appointment and enrolled them under the NPS, which applies to employees joining after January 1, 2005, keeping them outside the OPS that covers pre-2005 recruits, IANS reported.

Source: IANS via HiIndia

The government had argued that the 2018 amalgamation amounted to a new appointment, thereby justifying the switch to NPS. The High Court rejected this contention, observing that when the administration continues to grant seniority and promotional benefits based on the teachers' earlier service records, it cannot selectively treat the same service as irrelevant for pension purposes.

Source: IANS via HiIndia

NPS corpus to move to OPS; government response awaited

The court directed that the accumulated corpus in the affected teachers' NPS accounts be transferred to the Old Pension Scheme and that they be extended full OPS benefits. The decision is expected to impact more than 99,000 teachers across Madhya Pradesh, out of a total teaching workforce of around 3.75 lakh.

Source: IANS via HiIndia

Education Department sources indicated that the government will now have to examine the administrative and financial implications of implementing the order, IANS reported. Nation Press reported that the state government is yet to indicate whether it will challenge the ruling in a higher court or move to implement it, while teacher associations have welcomed the verdict as long-awaited justice for educators who served under uncertain pension arrangements.

Source: Nation Press