High Court stays outsourcing of computer instructors:Notice issued to state government DPI; petition filed by instructors working in 92,000 schools

The High Court has imposed an interim stay on the state government’s decision to bring computer instructors posted in Madhya Pradesh government schools under an outsourcing arrangement. A single bench of Justice M.S. Bhatti issued notices to the state government, the Directorate of Public Education (DPI) and the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan. The court directed that status quo be maintained until the next hearing and clarified that the existing system will continue until further effective orders. The matter is scheduled for hearing on February 17. 118 instructors move High Court Arjit Namdev, a resident of Mandla, along with 118 computer instructors, filed the petition stating that they have been serving on a contractual basis in government schools for several years. They were appointed on a merit basis under the guest teacher system and are currently working in nearly 92,000 government schools across the state. The petitioners submitted that during the 2025–26 academic session, the government suddenly issued an order citing alleged irregularities in recruitment. Based on this, a decision was taken to outsource the services of computer instructors, a move they claim has put the livelihood and future of thousands of teachers at risk. Fear of losing 50% reservation benefit Appearing on behalf of the petitioners, Advocate Aryan Urmalia informed the court that the recruitment process was carried out through the GFMS portal, which covered the entire procedure, including merit-based selection, document verification and joining. He submitted that the computer instructors have already completed nearly two and a half academic sessions and are close to fulfilling the requirement of 200 working days and three academic sessions. Upon meeting these criteria, they would have become eligible for 50 percent reservation benefit in future direct recruitment. However, the proposed outsourcing system would deprive them of this entitlement. The petition further pointed out that most government schools in the state have only one or two computer instructors, and the outsourcing decision could directly jeopardize their employment and future prospects.