Appeal No 696 of 1976
Appeal by Special Leave from the Judgment and Order dated 16 4 1976 of the Madhya Pradesh High Court in MP No 69772
AK Sen SS Khanduja and SK Jain for the Appellant
DN Mukherjee and CL Sahu for Respondent No 4
Ram Panjwani HS Parihar and 1
N Shroff for Respondents 1 3
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by CHANDJACHUD J
The management of Primary and Middle Schools was taken over by the Madhya Pradesh Government from the Local Authorities under the Madhya Pradesh Local Author ities School Teachers Absorption in Government Service Act 1963
In 1968 the State Government decided to take over the management of Higher Secondary Schools also
One such school was Kanya Naween Vidya Bhawan Gadarwara which was run by a Society registered trader the Societies Regis tration Act
The appellant Smt
Juthika Bhattacharya
who was a BABT was the Head Mistress of that school
Her scale of pay was Rs 275 700 and at the relevant time she was drawing a monthly salary of Rs 500
On February 23 1970 the Divisional Superintendent of Education Narmada Division Hoshangabad wrote to the Society that the management of the school run by it would be taken over by the Government if there was no improvement in its financial position
On June 7 1971 he informed the Society that the Government had issued directions for taking over the management of the school
In pursuance of this letter the management of the school along with its assets was taken over by the Government on June 181971
The Government assured the Society that the staff of the school will be absorbed in the new set up
479 The case of the appellant is that she was entitled to be appointed as a Principal since she was holding a corre sponding post in a substantive capacity on the date of her absorption viz June 18 1971
But the Divisional Superin tendent of Education acting under the directions of the State Government and the Director of Public Instructions directed that the appellant should be absorbed as an Upper Division Teacher in the time scale of Rs 150 290
Accord ing to the respondents the appellant did not hold a post graduate degree and no person could be appointed to the post of a Principal unless he or she held a post graduate degree and possessed the stated length of experience
Appellant having had the requisite experience the only question for decision in this appeal is whether she is entitled to be appointed as a Principal notwithstanding the fact that she
does not hold a postgraduate degree
Relying upon a Memorandum dated December 6 1972 issued by the Government of Madhya Pradesh in its Department of Education the appellant contended that even assuming that she could not be appointed as a Principal for the alleged reason that she did not hold a post graduate degree she could obtain that degree any time within 3 years from the date of her absorption and therefore the order passed by the State Government before the expiry of that period appointing her on a lower post is illegal
There is no substance in this argument because the Memorandum of Decem ber 6 1972 applies in terms only to the staff of the Higher Secondary Schools run by Janpad Sabhas and Munici palities and not to the staff of schools run by private Societies like the school of which the appellant on the date of absorption was the Head Mistress
Paragraph 4b of the aforesaid Memorandum undoubtedly affords the facili ty that where the qualification for a post is post gradua tion the post graduate degree may be obtained within 3 years from the date of absorption
But in view of the express statement in the Memorandum that it will be ap plicable only to previous teachers of Janpad Sabhas and municipalities the appellant cannot claim the benefit of the  particular facility
Any lurking doubt in this behalf stands resolved by the further statement in the Memorandum that except in regard to schools run by Janpad Sabhas and Municipalities the Rules dated December 21 1967 will continue to apply to nonGovernment schools without the amendments introduced by the Memorandum
The Memorandum dated December 21 1967 the Rules con tained in which remain unaffected by the amendments intro duced by the Memorandum dated December 6 1972 provides by paragraph 3b that for absorption in the post of the Prin cipal of a Higher Secondary School the person concerned should possess the post graduate degree and should also possess experience of a certain number of years
The appel lant did have the requisite experience but the question is whether paragraph 3b of the Memorandum contains but a directory rule as it uses the word should  and secondly whether the appellant can be said to possess a post gradu ate degree  since she holds the qualification of BABT
It is urged on the first limb of this argument that as contrasted with the Memorandum of December 21 1967 which uses the word should 480 the one dated December 6 1972 Says that the
person concerned must have obtained a post graduate degree and therefore the former rule is directory in character
We are unable to agree
The mere use of the word should does not mean necessarily that the compliance with the rule is dis cretionary
It is well settled that whether a provision is directory or mandatory depends on its object and purpose not merely on the use of any particular word or phrase
The object of the Memorandum is to prescribe qualifications for the staff of non Government schools and Local Body schools taken over by the State Government
In that context the use of the word should cannot justify the construction that for absorption in the post of a Principal of a Higher Secondary School the incumbent may or may not possess a post graduate degree
In a memorandum containing a set of rules prescribing qualifications for various posts it is meaningless to provide that the incumbent of a certain post may or may not possess a certain qualification if the possession of the particular qualification is considered to be a matter of no importance or consequence
Paragraph 3b consists of a complex provision one part of which refers to the requirement of a post graduate degree and the other to the need to
possess a certain amount of experience
Both the clauses of a single sentence are governed by the verb should
If the requirement as to the possession of a post graduate degree is to be directory in character the same consideration must apply equally to the requirement of experience with the result that for eligibility for the post of a Principal it would neither be necessary to possess any particular educational qualification nor any particular experience of teaching
The appointment then to the highest post in the school would depend upon the sweet will of the appointing authority unguided alike in the matter of minimum qualification and minimum experience
The word should occurring in paragraph 3b of the Memorandum of 1967 must therefor be understood in a mandatory sense so that no person who does not hold a post graduate degree and possess the requisite experience would be eligible for being appointed as the Principal of a higher secondary school
As regards the second limb of the argument that since the appellant holds the qualification of BABT she ought to be considered as holding a post graduate degree regard must again be had to the context in which the particular expression occurs and the purpose of the prescription
It is not inconceivable that the expression post graduate degree may in a broad and general sense mean in a given context any degree obtained after graduation and which a graduate alone can obtain
But that is not the sense in which the Memorandum uses the particular expression
By post graduate degree is meant a Master s degree like the MA or MSc
and not a Bachelor s degree like the BT
In other words the expression connotes the successful comple tion of a course of studies at a higher level in any spe ciality after the acquisition of a basic qualification at the graduate level
The BT course of studies we are informed is open only to graduates and in dictionary manner of speaking the degree of Bachelor of Teaching may be said to be a post graduate degree in the sense that the degree is obtainable only after graduation
That is the sense in which the word post is used in expressions like post nuptial post prandial 481 post operative post mortem and so forth
In these expressions post means simply after the emphasis being on the happening of an event after a certain point of time But the expression postgraduate degree has acquired in the educational world a special significance a technical content
A Bachelor s degree like the BT or the LLB is not considered to be a post graduate degree even though those degrees can be taken only after graduation
In the refined and elegant world of education it is the holder of a Master s degree like the MEd
or the LLM who earns recognition as the holder of a post graduate de gree
That is the sense in which the expression is used in the Memorandum
Mr Sen says that in some foreign universi ties even a Bachelor s degree obtainable only after gradua tion is considered as a post graduate qualification
We are concerned with the interpretation of an indigenous instrument and must have regard for local parlance and understanding
Such awareness and understanding compel the construction for which we have indicated our preference
Indeed everyone concerned understood the rule in the same sense as is evident from the permission sought by the appel lant herself to appear for the MA examination
She asked for that permission in order to qualify for the Principal s post
The appellant  made a serious grievance that she was discriminated against in comparison with several others who have been appointed as principals in higher secondary schools run by the Government
On the record is a statement Annexure P VIII which does show that in schools which were from their inception run by the Government several teachers were appointed as Principals though they did not hold the Master s degree
Mr Panjwani appearing on behalf of the state Government has given a valid explanation for this differentiation
Speaking generally in schools which were always under Government control a teacher could aspire to become a Principal only after a long period of service
Most of the 19 teachers whose names appear in Annexure P VIII had served for about 20 years before being appointed as principals
On the other hand private schools like the one in which the appellant was working as a Head Mistress or a principal did not follow any such convention and appoint ments to the post of the head of the school were made there in directly and straightway without insistence on any worth while experience of teaching
The appellant herself was appointed to the post of a Head Mistress directly in the year 1958
The state Government had therefore a valid reason for prescribing comparatively stringent qualifica tions for the post of Principal in schools taken over by it from private institutions
It may be added that in its own schools the Government appointed persons holding merely the qualification of BABT to the post of Principal by reason of the long and valuable experience gained by them as teachers and not on the supposition that they held a post graduate degree
Reliance was placed by the appellant s counsel on Regulations of the Board of Secondary Education Madhya Pradesh in support of his submission that the qualifica tions of the teaching staff in any institution have to be the same as prescribed for the corresponding staff in Gov ernment institutions
But these Regulations have no rele vance in the present case
They were framed under section 284 of the 482 Madhya Pradesh Madhyamik Shiksha Adhiniyam 1965
Regula tion 61 and the allied regulations on which reliance is placed show that they were framed in order to prescribe conditions with which an educational institution had to comply before seeking recognition of the Board of Second ary Education
The various conditions prescribed by the Regulations do not constitute conditions of service and can create no rights and obligations contractual or statutory as between a school and its employees whether the school is a Government institution non Government institution
Before concluding we would like to say that the State Government ought to consider the request which was made by the appellant long since for permission to appear for the final MA Examination
She has already passed Part I of that examination with Political Science as her subject but she was refused permission to complete
the course on the ground that she had not yet completed one year s service under the State Government
That objection
can no longer hold good
We are confident that the proceedings taken by the appellant for vindicating her rights will not be allowed to stand in her way if and when she is found fit and quali fied for further  promotion in accordance with the  rele vant rules
For these reasons we confirm the judgment of the High Court and dismiss the appeal but there will be no order as to costs
PBR Appeal dismissed


Summary:
Paragraph 3b of a memorandum dated December 21 1967 issued by the State Government provides that for absorption in the post of Principal of a Higher Secondary School the person concerned should possess a post graduate degree and should also possess the prescribed experience
An amendment introduced by the memorandum dated December 6 1972 says that wherever the qualification for a post is post graduate the person concerned will have to obtain this degree within three years of absorption
But this amendment was made applicable only to persons who had been working in schools run by Janpad Sabhas and Municipal Committees and for all teachers of non Government schools taken over by the Govern ment 1967 orders applied
The appellant who was a BABT was the Head Mistress of a Private school
When the administration of the school was taken over by the Government she was fixed in a lower time scale of pay because under the rules no person could be appointed as Principal unless she held a post graduate degree and possessed the requisite experience
The High Court dismissed her Writ Petition
In appeal to this Court it was contended that i her appointment in a lower post was illegal because she could have obtained the Post graduate degree within the three years  time from the date of her absorption ii the word should  used in the 1967 memorandum showed that the rule is directory in charac ter iii since
she held BABT she should be consid ered as having a post graduate qualification iv she was discriminated against because in the schools run by Govern ment from their inception teachers who did not hold a Master s degree were appointed as Principals and v the qualifications of the teaching staff have to be the same as prescribed in the Regulations of the Board of Secondary Education
Dismissing the appeal HELD 1 In view of the express statement in the 1972 Memorandum that it would be applicable only to previous teachers of Janpad Sabhas and Municipalities the appellant could not claim the benefit of the particular facility
479 E F 2 The word should occurring in paragraph 3b must be understood in a mandatory sense
The use of word should cannot justify the construction that for absorption in the post of a Principal of a Higher Secondary School the incum bent may or may not possess the Post Graduate Degree
In a memorandum containing a set of rules prescribing the quali fications for various posts it is meaningless to provide that the incumbent of a certain post may or may not possess a certain qualification if the possession of the particular qualification is considered to be a matter of no importance or consequence
Paragraph 3b consists of a complex provi sion one part of which refers to the requirement of a Post Graduate Degree and the other to the need to possess a certain amount of experience
Both the clauses of a single sentence are governed by the verb should
If the require ment as to the possession of a Post graduate Degree is to be directory in character the same consideration must apply equally to the requirement of experience with the result that for eligibility for the post of a Principal it would neither be necessary to possess any particular educational qualification nor any particular experience of teaching
480 C E 478 3 By Post graduate Degree is meant a Master s degree like the MA or MSc
and not a Bachelor s degree like BT
In expressions like post nuptial post operative etc post means after the emphasis being on the happening of an event after a certain point of time
In the educational world the expression post graduate has acquired a special significance
It is the holder a Master s Degree like the MEd
or LLM who earns recognition as the holder of a post graduate degree
That is the sense in which the ex pression is used in the Memorandum
480 G 481 A 4 The State Government had a valid reason for pre scribing comparatively stringent qualifications for Princi pals in schools taken over from privae institutions
While a teacher in a Government school was appointed as Principal by reason of long and valuable experience gained as teacher a Head Mistress or a Principal of a private school was appointed directly and straightway without insistence on any worthwhile experience of teaching
481 G 5 Regulations of the Board of Secondary Education framed under the Madhya Pradesh Madhyamik Siksha Adhiniyam 1965 have no relevance in the present ease
They prescribe conditions with which an educational institution had to comply before seeking recognition
The various conditions prescribed  by the Regulations do not constitute conditions of service and can create no rights and obligations con tractual or statutory as between a school and its employ ees whether the school is a Government institution or a non Government institution
482 A B