The Supreme Court on Thursday issued notice on a public interest litigation seeking a comprehensive national policy and statutory framework for the welfare, social security and post-retirement protection of private school teachers across India.

A bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta issued notice to the Union Government, States, Union Territories and other authorities, including the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE), and posted the matter after four weeks.

The petition has been filed by Ligimol George, National Coordinator of the All-India Teachers Federation through Advocate on Record Deepak Prakash. The plea seeks directions to the Union Government to examine and formulate, within a time-bound period, a comprehensive National Policy and appropriate statutory, administrative or executive framework for private school teachers.

The petitioner has argued that private school teachers perform an essential public function in furtherance of the constitutional mandate under Article 21A, but continue to lack a comprehensive and uniform statutory welfare framework. The petition states that the existing legal framework is fragmented and dependent on State laws, institutional practices and contractual arrangements, resulting in disparities in service conditions and welfare benefits among similarly situated teachers.

“The continued absence of a National Private School Teachers Welfare Board, a comprehensive statutory pension and social security framework, and a coordinated institutional mechanism for ensuring post-retirement security, medical assistance, insurance, welfare funds, family benefits and other social welfare measures has created a significant legislative and policy vacuum adversely affecting millions of teachers throughout the country. Such a vacuum directly impacts their dignity, economic security and quality of life and warrants constitutional scrutiny by this Hon'ble Court”, the plea states.

The plea highlights that a large number of private school teachers retire without adequate pensionary benefits, medical assistance, insurance protection, family welfare measures, disability support or an effective social security mechanism. It states that these deficiencies expose teachers to financial insecurity and hardship during old age and other contingencies.

The petition points out that Parliament has enacted various labour and social-security legislations, including the Employees' State Insurance Act, 1948, the Employees' Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952, the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972 and the Code on Social Security, 2020. However, the petition contends, these enactments do not constitute a comprehensive welfare framework or create a specialised statutory institution for the long-term welfare of private school teachers.

The petition compares the position of private school teachers with occupational groups for whom dedicated welfare mechanisms have been created. It refers to welfare mechanisms for building and other construction workers, beedi workers, cine workers, fishermen, journalists, unorganised workers and other vulnerable categories.

The plea states that no corresponding National Welfare Board or dedicated national institutional framework exists for private school teachers. Further, there is consequently no single authority responsible for formulating welfare policies, maintaining a national welfare fund, coordinating implementation across States, extending medical and insurance benefits, providing financial assistance during disability or old age, or ensuring uniform post-retirement social security, the plea states.

The petition also contends that implementation of existing statutory welfare measures is fragmented. It claims that recognised private educational institutions do not uniformly implement applicable labour welfare laws and their implementation varies according to institutional practices, salary structures, statutory thresholds and State-specific regulatory frameworks. As a result, it claims, many teachers either remain outside the effective coverage of existing legislation or receive only limited protection.

The petition further submits that teachers performing substantially identical functions can receive radically different service conditions, retirement benefits and social-security protections depending on the State in which they work or the policies of their respective managements.

It contends that such differences have no rational nexus with the duties performed by the teachers and result in arbitrary discrimination, violating Article 14. The plea also invokes Article 21 and the Directive Principles under Articles 38, 39, 41, 42 and 43.

The petitioner has relied on official UDISE+ 2023–24 data to underline the scale of the issue. The petition states that India has approximately 14.72 lakh schools, more than 98 lakh teachers and nearly 24.8 crore students. Of these, 37,30,047 teachers are employed in recognised private unaided schools.

The plea also refers to the provisions of the National Education Policy, 2020 recognising teachers as the cornerstone of the education system and emphasising restoration of the dignity of the teaching profession, improvement of working conditions, institutional support and professional development. It argues, however, that the policy does not create enforceable statutory rights concerning pension, social security or post-retirement welfare for private school teachers.

The petition further highlights that the Code on Social Security, 2020 that the Code contains dedicated social-security mechanisms for specified categories, including unorganised workers, gig workers, platform workers and building and other construction workers, but does not establish a corresponding National Welfare Board or exclusive statutory welfare framework for private school teachers.

The petitioner has clarified that the PIL does not seek adjudication of individual service disputes, salary claims, promotions, appointments or contractual disputes between teachers and private schools. It also does not seek interference with the internal administration of private educational institutions.

Instead, the plea seeks prospective and institutional directions to address a continuing legislative and administrative vacuum concerning private school teachers.

The petition therefore seeks establishment of a National Private School Teachers Welfare Board or another appropriate institutional mechanism to coordinate, implement and monitor measures relating to pensionary benefits, provident fund and gratuity compliance, medical assistance, insurance, disability assistance, family welfare, post-retirement social security, maintenance of a national database, statutory compliance and grievance redressal.

The plea also seeks a comprehensive statutory framework providing for pension, gratuity, provident fund strengthening, medical assistance, health and accidental insurance, disability benefits, family welfare assistance, welfare funds and post-retirement social security.

The petitioner has sought a direction to the Union Government to undertake an institutional examination of the issues in consultation with the Ministries and statutory authorities concerned with education, labour, social security and financial welfare.

The plea proposes that an inter-ministerial or expert committee should review the existing statutory, administrative and policy framework governing service welfare, pensionary benefits, provident fund, gratuity, medical assistance, health insurance, disability benefits and post-retirement social security applicable to private school teachers.

The petition further seeks direction to the Union Government to evolving uniform minimum national standards for social security and post-retirement welfare of private school teachers.

Case no. – Writ Petition (Civil) No. 1116 of 2026

Case Title – Ligimol George v. Union of India & Ors.