(i) Ex-officio Members:
(a) The Director of School Education.
(b) The Joint Director of Education (Higher Secondary)
(c) The Deputy Director of Education (Elementary).
(d) The Additional Director of Technical Education, Puducherry.
(e) A nominee of the Finance Department, Puducherry.
(f) The Head of the State Training Centre, Puducherry.
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(ii) Nominated Members:
(a) Principal of a higher secondary school.
(b) Headmaster of a high school.
(c) A teacher engaged in teaching at the level of higher secondary education.
(d) A teacher engaged in teaching at the level of Secondary education.
(e) A teacher engaged in teaching at the level of elementary education.
(f) Principal of a private matriculation school.
(g) Two representatives on academic side of the Puducherry University nominated by the Vice-Chancellor of the said University.
(h) Five eminent educationists nominated by the government.
(i) A nominee of the National Council of Education, Research and Training to be nominated by the Head of such organisation.
(j) A nominee of the National Council for Teacher Education to be nominated by the Head of such organisation.
(k) A college teacher with proven academic record.
(l) One member representing Fine Arts:
Provided that, a person shall cease to hold office as a member of the Board if he ceases to be in the employ of the Puducherry University or the State Training Centre located in the Territory or, National Council of Education Research and Training or National Council for Teacher Education or to be a Principal or Headmaster or teacher of a secondary school or higher secondary school or elementary school as the case may be or, in the management of privately managed secondary/higher secondary school or matriculation school, as the case may be.
(2) The name of persons, not being the ex-officio members, who have been nominated, from time to time, as members of the Board shall be published by the Board in the official gazette.
(3) No employee of the Board shall be eligible to be nominated to the Board.
(4) No person shall be nominated as member of the Board or continue to be such member for more than two consecutive terms.
(5) When a person ceases to be a member of the Board he shall automatically cease to be a member of any council/committee of the Board to which he has been appointed by the Board.
398 Term of office and allowances of members of Board
14. (1) The members nominated under section 13 shall hold office for a term of four years from the date on which the names are published in the official gazette:
Provided that, the term of office of the outgoing members shall extend to and expire, on the date immediately preceding the date on which the names of their successors are published in the official gazette.
(2) As near as may be one-fourth of the members nominated under section 13 shall retire at the end of each year after the first year in the manner to be prescribed.
(3) When the term of office of a member, other than an ex-officio member, expires, the vacancy so arising shall be filled as soon as may be, and to this end all necessary steps be taken by the Chairman of the Board within three months before expiry of the term of office of the said member.
(4) Members shall be entitled to such allowances as are determined by the regulations made by the Board.
Disqualification of Chairman, Vice-Chairman and members
15.(1) A person shall be disqualified whether appointed, nominated or designated as, or from continuing as a Chairman, Vice-Chairman or a member of the Board or of any Committee appointed under this Act, -
(a) if he directly or indirectly by himself or his partner has or had any share or interest in any text-book published:
Provided that a person who had any share or interest in the text-book concerned shall not be deemed to have incurred disqualification under this clause if five years had lapsed from the date of publication of such book;
(b) if he directly or indirectly by himself or his partner, has any share or interest in any work done by the order of, or any contract entered into on behalf of the Board;
(c) if he is an undischarged insolvent;
(d) if he is adjudged to be of unsound mind by a competent authority; or
(e) if he is a person against whom an order of removal from office has been made by the Government by specific proven charges involving moral turpitude or disgraceful conduct or action detrimental to the interest of the Board:
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Provided that a person against whom such order is made would not be deemed to be disqualified under this clause if five years or lesser period as the Government may specify has elapsed from the date of his removal from office.
Explanation.- For the purpose of clause (a) –
(i) the publication of text-book includes its republication;
(ii) a person shall be deemed to have incurred disqualification by reason of his having any share or interest in the business of the publisher of such text-book.
(2) All cases of disqualification of incumbent Chairman, Vice-Chairman or members of the Board will have to be necessarily approved by the Board which may for the purpose, make such enquiry as it may deem fit. In the event of such approval being granted by the Board, in the case of incumbent member, he shall stand disqualified and removed from the office; and in the event of such approval being granted by the Board in the case of incumbent Chairman or Vice-Chairman, the Government shall remove from office on the recommendation of the Board:
Provided that, no such approval shall be given by the Board unless the incumbent Chairman, Vice-Chairman or member to whom it relates has been given a reasonable opportunity of showing cause why such disqualification should not be effected:
Provided further that when the Board considers the disqualification of any incumbent member, Vice-Chairman or Chairman, he shall not have any right to vote during such discussions and in the case of discussions regarding the disqualification of incumbent Chairman, he shall not chair the meeting and the post of the Chairman for the limited purpose of presiding over such meetings shall be filled up by the Government in accordance with the procedure laid down under sub-section (8) of section 8 of this Act.
Resignation of members
16. (1) A member of the Board not being an ex-officio member, may, resign his office at any time by tendering his resignation in writing to the Chairman of the Board, and such member shall be deemed to have vacated his office as soon as the Chairman has accepted his resignation.
(2) The name of any member whose resignation has been accepted by the Chairman under sub-section (1) shall be published by the Board in the official gazette.
400 Removal of Chairman, Vice-Chairman and member
17.(1) A person appointed to the post of Chairman shall, subject to the provisions contained in section 15, ordinarily hold office for the entire period of his tenure unless removed from office by the Government on specific proven charges involving moral turpitude or disgraceful conduct or actions detrimental to the interest of the Board.
(2) The Government may, on the recommendation of the Board and after making such further enquiry as it may think fit to make, remove the Vice-Chairman or any member of the Board or of any committee/council appointed from office, if such member has been convicted of an offence involving moral turpitude or has been guilty of any disgraceful conduct which in the opinion of the Board renders him unfit to be continued as a member or has acted in any manner detrimental to the aims and objectives of the Board.
(3) No such removal or recommendation for removal as contained in sub-sections
(1) and (2) aforesaid shall be made unless the Chairman/vice-Chairman/member to whom it relates, has been given a reasonable opportunity of showing cause why such removal/recommendation for removal should not be made.
(4) The name of any Chairman/Vice-Chairman/member who has been removed from office under sub-sections (1) and (2) shall be published by the Board in the official gazette.
Vacancy of Chairman, Vice-Chairman or member
18.(1) If the Chairman or a member of the Board or any committee/ council appointed under this act, becomes, disqualified under section 15, his office shall become vacant.
(2) If the resignation tendered by the Chairman, Vice-Chairman or a member of the Board or of any committee/council appointed is accepted by the Government or the Chairman as the case may be, his office shall become vacant.
(3) If the Chairman, Vice-Chairman or a member of the Board or of any committee/council appointed is removed, his office shall become vacant.
(4) If a member nominated or designated by the Board remains absent without the permission of the Board from three consecutive meetings thereof, his office shall thereupon become vacant; and all such vacancies shall be notified by the Board in the official gazette.
(5) If any question arises as to whether the Office of the Chairman, Vice-Chairman or the member has become vacant under sub-sections (1) to (4) above, the question shall be referred to the Government and its decision in the matter shall be final.
401 Casual vacancies
19. Every casual vacancy among the members of the Board or any committee or council constituted under this Act, shall be filed up as soon as may be, by nomination or designation as the case may be, and the person nominated or designated under the casual vacancy shall hold office so long as the member in whose place he has been nominated or designated would have held it if the vacancy had not occurred.
Acts and proceedings
20. No Act or proceeding of the Board or the Executive Council or the Academic Council or any other authority or committee of the Board, shall at any time, be deemed invalid on the ground only that it is not duly constituted or that there is a defect in its constitution or that there is a vacancy in the membership thereof, and the validity of such act or proceedings shall not be questioned in any Court or before any authority merely on any such ground.
Meetings of the Board
21.(1) The Board shall, on a date to be fixed by the Chairman of the Board, meet not less than three times in every year, and not more than four months shall ordinarily intervene between two such consecutive meetings.
(2) The Chairman of the Board,-
(a) if he thinks fit, may, and
(b) upon a requisition in writing signed by not less than one-third of the total number of members of the Board, shall, convene a special meeting of the Board, after giving a notice of seven days in the case of clause (a) and on a date not later than 21 days from the date of receipt of the request by the Chairman in the case of clause (b).
Power to invite experts and officers at meetings
22.(1) The Board may invite any person who in its opinion is an expert in some field of education or any official of the Government not below the rank of a Deputy Director or equivalent or any person who because of his knowledge or experience in some specific area, may, in the opinion of the Board, rendered valuable assistance in decision making, to attend its meeting or any meeting of its committees, if a subject with which the expert or the officer or such person is concerned with, is likely to come up or comes for discussion or consideration at such meetings.
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(2) The experts, officers and persons invited under sub-section (1) to the meetings of the Board or its committees shall have no power to vote.
The Executive Council