New Delhi, Nov 18 (IANS): The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld the decision of the Uttar Pradesh government to increase the cut-off marks for 2019 recruitment of 69,000 Shiksha Mitras (assistant teachers).

A bench of Justices U.U. Lalit and Mohan M. Shantanagoudar affirmed the Allahabad High Court judgment and dismissed the appeals filed by the Uttar Pradesh Prathmik Shiksha Mitra Association.

This order now paves the way for the UP government to fill nearly 38,000 vacancies in accordance with the recruitment exam results announced in May. The pleas had challenged the decision of the state government which fixed the cut-off marks for the recruitment of 69,000 assistant teachers in 2019. The bench had reserved the order in July this year.

However, the top court said the aggrieved assistant teachers could be given another opportunity and they may be allowed to compete in the next recruitment examination. It left it on the state government to work out the modalities in this matter.

The association had assailed the UP government's January 7, 2019 order, through which the qualifying marks for the recruitment exam was increased to 65 and 60 for the general and reserved categories, respectively.

The petitioners had argued that fixing the qualifying marks at 65 and 60 was arbitrary, and these marks should be 45 and 40.

The Allahabad High Court had confirmed the state government decision for assistant teachers in the Basic Education Council schools in the state. The notification increasing the cut-off marks issued after the exam was held.

The petitioners pointed out that the qualifying marks for the same exam were 40 to 45 in the previous year, and if marks were to increase, then it should have been done prior to the exam.