🏛️ Polity
Keeping KGBV teachers on contract for years on meagre pay is forced labour under Article 23, says Allahabad High Court
In 60 seconds: The Allahabad High Court has held that keeping teachers of Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas on yearly contracts for over a decade, on about ₹12,790 a month, is forced labour barred by Article 23. Justice Pankaj Bhatia ordered Uttar Pradesh to create teaching posts and frame service rules on par with regular teachers within four months, and to pay all KGBV teachers ₹17,000 a month in the meantime.
Why it matters
Many teachers across India work on contract under central schemes. The ruling says a scheme label cannot be used to deny fair pay and security for work that is permanent in nature.
Explain it simply
If a family keeps the same cook for 15 years but calls her a 'temporary helper' every year to avoid a raise, the job is not temporary at all. The court said the same about these teachers.
The 3-minute read
What happened
In the connected petition, 270 of the 377 teachers had served for more than 10 years. The court found no material showing their work differed from that of regular teachers, called the 'honorarium' label a cruel joke, and held the arrangement violated Articles 14 and 23 and ran against the Directive Principles.
Background
Part-time KGBV teachers get ₹12,790 a month, and about ₹9,592 in hand after the EPF cut. An April 2026 order raised pay for Shiksha Mitras and part-time teachers in other state schools to up to ₹18,000, but the KGBV teachers' request for ₹17,000 was still pending.
How it works
The court read the RTE Act: KGBVs are 'schools' under Section 2(n), and Section 8 makes the government provide teaching staff. Since the scheme has run for over two decades, the work is permanent. It rejected the State's plea that no posts were sanctioned and the jobs were tied to the scheme.
What's next
Within four months, the State must create posts, frame service rules on par with regular teachers, consider regularisation and revise pay periodically. Until then all KGBV teachers get ₹17,000 a month; the State must pay now and recover the Centre's share later.
What it means for you
For polity papers, this is a fresh example of Article 23 being read to cover unfairly low pay, not just bonded labour.
Key numbers
- ₹17,000: Interim monthly pay ordered for KGBV teachers
- 377: Teachers in the connected petition
- 4 months: Deadline to create posts and frame rules
Both sides
- KGBV teachers: They do the same work as regular teachers, and the State exploited them by denying job security for years.
- Uttar Pradesh government: No posts were sanctioned for KGBVs, and the teachers' engagement was tied to the life of the scheme.
Key terms explained
- Forced labour
- Work taken from a person against their will or for pay so low that they have no real choice; banned by Article 23.
- Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya
- Residential schools for girls from disadvantaged groups in rural and remote areas, started in 2004.
The story so far
- 2004: The Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya scheme starts under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan. The scheme set up residential schools for girls from disadvantaged groups in rural and remote areas. It was later merged into Samagra Shiksha.
- Jul 2009: Uttar Pradesh advertises posts and selects the first KGBV teachers on contract. Teachers chosen after an advertisement of 10 July 2009 were engaged for 11 months and 29 days at a time, with a one-day break before each new academic year.
- Apr 2010: The Right to Education Act comes into force, giving effect to Article 21-A. The RTE Act, 2009 made free and compulsory education a right for children aged 6 to 14. Section 8 asks the government to provide schools and teaching staff.
- Today: Allahabad HC calls years of contract work for KGBV teachers forced labour
Exam notes (UPSC, SSC, Banking, PSC)
- Article 23 bans traffic in human beings, begar and other forms of forced labour.
- In PUDR v Union of India (1982, the Asiad workers case), the Supreme Court held that paying less than the minimum wage can amount to forced labour.
- Article 21-A, added by the 86th Amendment (2002), makes education a fundamental right for children aged 6 to 14.
- Samagra Shiksha (2018) merged Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan and Teacher Education.
Likely exam question: How have courts widened the meaning of 'forced labour' under Article 23? Discuss with reference to contractual employment in government schemes.