An Indian Church official has welcomed an order of the Delhi High Court allowing educational institutions run by minority communities to appoint their staff without government approval. “This is a great order,” said Father Maria Charles Antonysamy, the secretary of the Indian bishops’ Office of Education and Culture, indicating that government-funded minority institutions across the country experienced a lack of freedom in appointing staff members. Delhi High Court, in its May 28 order, said, “So long as the principals and teachers, who are appointed possess the prescribed qualifications and experience, there can be no restriction whatsoever on the right of the petitioner [a minority institution] to make appointments to fill in the vacancies in the schools run by it.” “No prior permission from the government is required for this purpose,” observed Justice C. Hari Shankar, ruling in favor of the petitioner Delhi Tamil Education Association, which runs seven senior secondary schools in India’s national capital region for the Tamil linguistic minority. Indian constitution allows linguistic and religious minorities to establish and run educational institutions to serve their communities. The government also pays for the salaries and maintenance of several such institutions as they contribute to the state’s educational service.
However, state governments increasingly began controlling staff appointments, and “because of this difficulty, in some cases, Church-run aided schools were closed down,” the priest said. The court’s order “definitely will help us to maintain our ethos and standards. Only when we have the freedom to appoint principals and teachers of our choice can we maintain our values for a better society,” said the Catholic priest. The New Delhi court’s order applies only to Delhi state, but the priest said it could be used as a guiding principle in asserting the rights of minority institutions across the country. “The order will help us to appoint staff members who understand us. It will make a big difference in our functioning. Appointing a vested interested person will lead to a clash of interest,” Father Antonysamy added. The priest said, “The high court order is a big relief not only in Delhi but also in other states where state-aided minority educational institutions faced similar problems. They can refer to this order in those states for relief.”