On Thursday, the Supreme Court of India directed the Jharkhand government to fill 50% of vacancies for assistant teachers and sahayak acharyas exclusively with para-teachers within four weeks. The court highlighted the urgent need to strengthen education rather than relying on ad-hoc measures. Para-teachers, who are employed on fixed-term contracts under initiatives like Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, have been challenging their regularization as assistant teachers. The court ruled that while para-teachers contribute to classroom functions, they do not fulfill the full responsibilities of regular assistant teachers, thus their claims for regularization lack a sound legal basis. The court emphasized the necessity for the executive to conduct periodic performance audits and eliminate ad-hocism in public employment. Furthermore, the recruitment process must be completed within 10 weeks, including the preparation of merit lists based on academic performance and teacher eligibility tests, in accordance with existing recruitment rules.