The shiniest new piece of technology in the classroom right now is called augmented reality, and that’s a fancy descriptive term for students learning more about what they see. Here’s how TeachHUB.com contributing writer Jacqui Murray describes augmented reality: “Using reality inspired by their lesson plan, teachers expand it — supersize it — with motion, color, websites, audio and other pieces that enrich the experience.”
Today, Jacqui takes an in-depth look at augmented reality in the centerpiece article on TeachHUB.com. She begins by comparing it to virtual reality, by quoting ed-tech influencer Kathy Schrock: “Augmented reality layers computer-generated enhancements on top of an existing reality to make it more meaningful through the ability to interact with it.”
Jacqui goes on to explain 10 ways to use augmented reality in your classroom, including:
Homework Mini-Lessons: Students scan homework to reveal information to help them solve a problem.
Lab Safety: Put triggers around a science laboratory that students can scan to learn safety procedures.
Parent Involvement: Record parents encouraging their child and attach a trigger image to the child\’s desk.
Requests: Trigger to a Google Form to request time with the teacher, librarian, or another professional.
Jacqui sums up her article thusly: “AR is the next great disruptive force in education. If your goal is to create lifelong learners inspired by knowledge, AR, in its infancy, holds the seeds for meeting that goal.”
Feb. 2 equates to a national holiday in some classrooms, as eager kids and creative teachers alike wait for a predictive mammal to exit his or her burrow and notice (or not notice) a shadow, signifying either more winter or an early spring. That’s right, we’re talking about Groundhog Day.
Today on TeachHUB.com, frequent contributing writer Janelle Cox, who is a seasoned educator based on the East Coast, looks at some fun classroom activities that will help your kids celebrate the great mammal’s finest day.
Janelle sums up her article like this, in a paragraph about The Groundhog Legend classroom activity: “The legend of the groundhog has been around since the 1880s, and is celebrated in the United States and Canada. While it’s celebrated all across the country, the largest celebration is help in Punxsutawney, Pa. According to this folklore, every year on Feb. 2, the groundhog’s behavior will predict the weather for the next six weeks. If he pops his head out of the hole and sees his shadow, then that means six more weeks of winter weather, but if comes up from his burrow and doesn’t see his shadow then it means will Spring will be earlier. Print out the full legend of the groundhog and have students read it. Then, challenge students to create their own legend. They can either add to or change the legend of the groundhog or they come up with a completely new legend of their own.”
How do you celebrate Groundhog Day in your classroom? Do you have any classroom activities that you would like to share with us? Please leave your ideas in the comment section of the actual article on TeachHUB.com, we would love to hear your ideas.
Today on TeachHUB.com, we shine the proverbial spotlight on a relatively new classroom activity that’s been all the rage in some classrooms of late: Yoga.
Contributing writer James Paterson spells out yoga’s benefits in a well-researched centerpiece article today. He spells out yoga’s benefits for the body:
Improves posture, alignment, and core strength.
Reduces chance of injury.
Improves digestion and circulation.
And for the mind:
Expands imagination, creativity, and self-expression.
Improves discipline and ability to be less reactive.
Builds confidence and self-esteem.
James finished up his article like this: “Gonzalez, too, says the results will be evident quickly.
“Short breaks with movement like this can make a huge impact on classroom culture and climate, and student engagement. Daily repetition helps children integrate these practices and use them as tools in day-to-day life for a long time.”
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In a recent issue of TeachHUB magazine, we instructed readers on how to use YouTube in the classroom productively, and featured a helpful organization called Matchbook Learning.
Did you know TeachHUB magazine is FREE? It is, and it’s a terrific resource designed to help you become a better educator.
One of the often-overlooked tasks of those in the teaching profession is to assist struggling students and helping them reach their full potential.
Today’s centerpiece article on TeachHUB.com looks at some teaching strategies to we can use to both encourage student growth and help unlock struggling students’ potential. Penned by Janelle Cox, a frequent TeachHUB.com (and TeachHUB Magazine) contributing writer based in upstate New York (she’s also a longtime elementary school educator), the teaching strategies she outlines include:
Teach Students to Learn How to Fail
Show Students How We Learn
And More!
Janelle sums up her article like this: “Struggling in school can be frustrating for both you as the teacher, as well as the student. As long as you encourage growth mindset, teach the student that it’s OK to fail, show them how we learn, and take the time to really get to them, then they’ll be able to eventually learn to reach their full potential.”
What are the teaching strategies you use to help struggling students reach their full potential? Please share your best tips and ideas in the comment section below. We’d love to hear what works for your classroom.
Each week, we send out an e-newsletter featuring the best articles and ideas from teachHUB.com. It’s the perfect way for you to keep up with what’s new each and every week – and it’s delivered straight to your inbox!
The TeachHUB.com newsletter also offers up an array of new lesson plans each week, and we spotlight the hottest trending articles from our website as well!
A growth mindset is one in which the subject believes that he or she can have the ability to learn new and execute things. People (and students) having a fixed mindset, meanwhile, think that they have inherited the inability to learn and do certain things. It’s no secret, then, that educators want to cultivate a growth mindset in their students.
Today on TeachHUB.com, frequent contributing writer Janelle Cox, who is a seasoned elementary school educator based on the East Coast, takes a look at some teaching strategies to bring about a growth mindset.
Janelle sums up her article thusly: “Having a growth mindset means that you can essentially train your brain to get smarter. By helping to students understand this concept, you are helping them to cultivate their abilities both inside and outside of the classroom.”
How to do instill a growth mindset in your students? Do you have any teaching strategies that you like to use? Please feel free to share them in the comment section below, we’d love to hear what works in your classroom.
In a recent issue of TeachHUB magazine, we instructed readers on how to use YouTube in the classroom productively, and featured a helpful organization called Matchbook Learning.
Did you know TeachHUB magazine is FREE? It is, and it’s a terrific resource designed to help you become a better educator.
Many professionals, not necessarily those just in the teaching profession, deal with anxiety problems and issues. Are they doing enough to help their students? Are they getting through? Are you doing enough with regards to professional development?
You can get through these anxieties with simple daily affirmations. Daily affirmations, in the form of self help-style quotes, can help teachers greatly. Today on TeachHUB.com, frequent contributing writer Janelle Cox, who is a seasoned elementary school teacher based in Upstate New York, looks at the power of positive affirmations, and how they can work for you she also include some sample affirmations, including:
·My teaching makes an impact on the world.
·Today I’ll share the gift of learning.
·I’m an amazing teacher and my job is worthy.
·Today my students will have my absolute commitment and dedication.
·And More!
While you may not always feel like you deserve the “World’s Greatest Teacher” mug, you must know that you’re not alone. We are in this together. Positive self-talk can reduce stress and anxiety just as long as you remember to practice it daily.
Do you practice daily affirmations in the teaching profession? What are some of your favorites? Please share your thoughts on this topic in the comment section below, we’d love to hear what you have to say.
Each week, we send out an e-newsletter featuring the best articles and ideas from teachHUB.com. It’s the perfect way for you to keep up with what’s new each and every week – and it’s delivered straight to your inbox!
The TeachHUB.com newsletter also offers up an array of new lesson plans each week, and we spotlight the hottest trending articles from our website as well!
Brief of Conference: National Conference on Indian Economy: Contemporary Issue and Challenges
Organised by Department of Economics, Parle Tilak Vidyalaya Association\’s Mulund College of Commerce, Mumbai and sponsored by Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) on 29th February 2020
One thing I was told by some high powered executive school people (a former chancellor of schools from Seattle and a superintendent of San Francisco Schools) was the need for the educational leader to take of him/herself. Our positions can be very stressful ones (a lot of this stress is self-induced). It’s important for us to take at least one day during the weekend to be with our family and with ourselves! This is very hard thing to do in the B-Berry/iPhone age! Make Saturday or Sunday YOUR (and your family) day!
to changing the culture of assessment in the school district. It’s vital that everyone in the learning community recognizes the importance of being able to “tell the story” of a child’s success from grades PreK-12. It’s easy to stay in the September to June “comfort zone” and follow a child’s progress from one end of a school year to the other. Can we step back and be willing to follow a child’s progress from Age 5 to Age 18?
The most effective way to energize teachers around the power of long-range longitudinal data analysis is to send teams to other schools already doing good work in this area. These teams would, hopefully, come back to the district and help build a positive energy mass that would, in turn, permeate the rest of the faculty.
I found a wonderful interview with John Wooden (UCLA basketball coach from 1948-1975) in which he talks about children’s success. Coach Wooden speaks to the power of longitudinal data analysis in his opening dialogue when he points out the importance of growth as a measure of success. Watch Coach Wooden talk about success:
My daughter got married this week. She and her husband had originally intended to have their wedding May 2, but the virus crisis clearly was going to prevent that gathering. Instead of delaying the wedding until the crisis passes, they chose to be married one month early in an essentially empty church. Their guests watched the wedding on YouTube.
My new son-in-law is in his last year of seminary. In a few days, he will be told where he will begin serving as pastor. The May 2 wedding was to have taken place in the seminary chapel. When the two of them first realized that the wedding would have to be rescheduled, their families considered the possibility they would just get the license and be married at the courthouse. In other words, they nearly eloped. (A future pastor and his bride, the daughter of a pastor, eloping—that would be humorous.) They were able, however, to arrange for a church wedding at a place that was already equipped to livestream its services on YouTube.
The groom and the best man were attired in formal Scottish garb—yes, including kilts. The bride wore a traditional white wedding dress. (She nearly had to improvise: the woman doing alterations on the dress had basically closed down her business because of the virus and could not be reached by phone. I don’t know the details of how my daughter finally got hold of the dress.) The bride’s sister was maid of honor. Because she works at a hospital, she was not able to take a day off for the wedding, so it was held at 8 p.m. In his homily, the pastor who married them commented on the unusual timing of the wedding—during the season of Lent, in the darkness of night, and during a pandemic.
So there were bride and groom, best man and maid of honor, pastor, musician, and one other woman who helped the bride and took part in the singing. They began with a traditional evening liturgy, then sang a hymn. We rushed around the house gathering hymnals and got to join in singing the fourth and fifth verses of the hymn. The pastor read from Genesis 2, delivered his homily, and then conducted the wedding ceremony. During the exchange of vows, the bride and groom had their hands bound together with a strip of cloth—another Scottish tradition.
As the father of the bride, I watched from the den. I was sitting in the same chair where I sat to watch the Chicago Cubs win the World Series. (We are never getting rid of that chair.) I was wearing a t-shirt, sweat shirt, blue jeans, and slippers. Other family members were present, as was the family cat. Popcorn was served.
This is not an April Fools prank. This is not First Friday Fiction. This is part of how the pandemic is rewriting life’s scripts for us all. I hope that you and those you love are well. J.
There’s a battle being waged in today’s economy, and you may have already felt some of the casualties in your own business.
The prize is a limited group of people who possess in-demand technical skills — and organizations are duking it out for them. HR departments must create increasingly compelling compensation packages to attract and retain these highly prized IT employees.
Talent Wars and the Gig Economy
At Appirio, we decided to find out just how these “talent wars” are affecting businesses, what issues matter most to executives and IT staff, and how those issues may differ. We partnered with Wakefield Research on the “Talent Wars and the Gig Economy” survey, in which 400 individuals were surveyed this summer — including 200 U.S. and U.K. C-level executives at companies with more than 500 employees, and 200 U.S. and U.K. IT staff at companies with more than 500 employees.
Unsurprisingly, both executives and IT staff overwhelmingly agree that recruiting and retaining IT talent is a significant problem within their organizations. In fact, 90 percent of the C-suite and 82 percent of IT staff surveyed said it is a top business challenge within their organizations. As if the recruiting battle isn’t challenging enough, poaching appears to be a big problem, too.
Executives suspect that their IT employees are being approached by recruiters on a regular basis, and it looks like they’re right — more than half of the IT staff surveyed estimated that recruiters contact their peers an average of six times per month. This constant IT turnover and fight for top talent is not only affecting businesses’ bottom lines, it’s also hindering their ability to innovate.
Bridging the Talent Gap with Crowdsourcing
Everyone’s heard the old saying, “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.” Rather than businesses putting a huge chunk of their IT resources into securing these highly skilled employees (and gambling on whether or not they hired the right person), many organizations are bridging the talent gap by usingcrowdsourcing as a way to scale innovation.
There is certainly no lack of top talent in the global crowd. Many of the world’s most talented IT professionals are choosing nontraditional paths to monetize their skills. The rise of the so-called “Gig Economy” has empowered workers to maximize their freedom and take work into their own hands. And the C-Suite has already taken note: 83 percent say that by 2050 the economy will shift toward gig-based work, rather than projects done by full-time employees.
The tactics companies are using to win top talent, such as well-padded compensation packages, fail to address what these individuals really want: a flexible and individualized worker experience. In fact, 81 percent of the IT workers in our survey said that they’re more likely to leave a job because of a lack of flexibility than because of unsatisfactory compensation.
The Future Is Now
The future of work is about breaking free from traditional ideologies of what “work” should be. Embracing mobility and creating a flexible, collaborative culture can help you attract those exceptional individuals that you want on your payroll. And crowdsourcing allows you to fill in the gaps — with some of the world’s top talent — while giving you the power to innovate like never before. Ready or not, the future of work is here. And it’s up to leadership to embrace it — or be left behind.
There\’s a battle being waged in today\’s economy, and you may have already felt some of the casualties in your own business.
The prize is a limited group of people who possess in-demand technical skills — and organizations are duking it out for them. HR departments must create increasingly compelling compensation packages to attract and retain these highly prized IT employees.
Talent Wars and the Gig Economy
At Appirio, we decided to find out just how these “talent wars\” are affecting businesses, what issues matter most to executives and IT staff, and how those issues may differ. We partnered with Wakefield Research on the “Talent Wars and the Gig Economy\” survey, in which 400 individuals were surveyed this summer — including 200 U.S. and U.K. C-level executives at companies with more than 500 employees, and 200 U.S. and U.K. IT staff at companies with more than 500 employees.
Unsurprisingly, both executives and IT staff overwhelmingly agree that recruiting and retaining IT talent is a significant problem within their organizations. In fact, 90 percent of the C-suite and 82 percent of IT staff surveyed said it is a top business challenge within their organizations. As if the recruiting battle isn\’t challenging enough, poaching appears to be a big problem, too.
Executives suspect that their IT employees are being approached by recruiters on a regular basis, and it looks like they\’re right — more than half of the IT staff surveyed estimated that recruiters contact their peers an average of six times per month. This constant IT turnover and fight for top talent is not only affecting businesses\’ bottom lines, it\’s also hindering their ability to innovate.
Bridging the Talent Gap with Crowdsourcing
Everyone\’s heard the old saying, “Don\’t put all your eggs in one basket.\” Rather than businesses putting a huge chunk of their IT resources into securing these highly skilled employees (and gambling on whether or not they hired the right person), many organizations are bridging the talent gap by usingcrowdsourcing as a way to scale innovation.
There is certainly no lack of top talent in the global crowd. Many of the world\’s most talented IT professionals are choosing nontraditional paths to monetize their skills. The rise of the so-called “Gig Economy\” has empowered workers to maximize their freedom and take work into their own hands. And the C-Suite has already taken note: 83 percent say that by 2050 the economy will shift toward gig-based work, rather than projects done by full-time employees.
The tactics companies are using to win top talent, such as well-padded compensation packages, fail to address what these individuals really want: a flexible and individualized worker experience. In fact, 81 percent of the IT workers in our survey said that they\’re more likely to leave a job because of a lack of flexibility than because of unsatisfactory compensation.
The Future Is Now
The future of work is about breaking free from traditional ideologies of what “work\” should be. Embracing mobility and creating a flexible, collaborative culture can help you attract those exceptional individuals that you want on your payroll. And crowdsourcing allows you to fill in the gaps — with some of the world\’s top talent — while giving you the power to innovate like never before. Ready or not, the future of work is here. And it\’s up to leadership to embrace it — or be left behind.
The world of work is entering unprecedented times. By many measures, unemployment is as low as it has been in a decade. Yet the percentage of employees who are engaged in their work is frighteningly low. In fact, according to Gallup research, more than 65% of U.S. employees are not engaged or actively disengaged. Behind this statistic are real people just trudging through their workday. It seems a lot of workers are uninspired, deflated and not fulfilling their human potential.
The human cost of disengagement should be enough for executives to investigate and take action. We all spend a lot of time at work and with our colleagues. While competitive salary is important, research indicates that it’s not enough to get employees engaged. As the Harvard Business Review observed, “The association between salary and job satisfaction is very weak.” Yes, inadequate pay can make employees unhappy. But adequate pay doesn’t directly correspond with happiness and engagement.
Aside from the human cost, there are real business consequences to a lack of employee engagement. In fact, unhappy employees cost American businesses over $300 billion each year. High attrition, for one, can drain a company’s human capital and profits. But there is also a clear connection between employee engagement and customer satisfaction.
In your own life as a consumer, when was the last time you had a good experience with a company that had disengaged employees? When most companies try to solve customer satisfaction issues and low net promoter scores, they first think of customer experience (CX) processes and technology. But the best CX programs in the world are useless without an engaged workforce.
So, what can organizations do to improve employee engagement?
Invest in New Technologies
Of course, technology is important. Employees expect consumer-grade technology in the workplace. Disconnected systems force employees to spend time hunting for answers instead of servicing customers. Enterprise social networks can also help employees connect. Clearly, good technology and data management is a big factor in employee engagement.
Educate Managers on Smart Leadership
But good technology is not enough. The key to employee engagement is leadership. As Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic writes, “The biggest organizational cause of disengagement is incompetent leadership. Thus, as a manager, it’s your personality that will have a significant impact on whether your employees are engaged at work, or not.”
Encourage Free-Thinking
To truly increase employee engagement, it is important to inspire free-thinking across your organization. A company culture based on free-thinking allows employees to speak their minds, and it encourages the C-Suite to match individual worker values to organizational goals. Employees in this atmosphere know that their minds are respected. Employees feel heard, needed and appreciated.
A free-thinking culture inspires leaders to practice honesty, transparency and a “no bullsh*t” communication style. Even if employees don’t always like what you have to say, they’ll trust and respect you for giving it to them straight. I’ve found that direct reports welcome this approach. However, it’s not just on the shoulders of executive management to lead with transparency; to achieve a company culture connected to high performance, all people managers must be on the same page.
Photo: Creative Commons
There is no magic potion to get employees engaged. Building a free-thinking culture arises from every interaction: from interviewing job candidates to counseling employees who are burned out. It is the job of leadership to model this behavior and address situations that damage the culture. So when executives think about employee engagement, the first place they should look is in the mirror.
The world of work is entering unprecedented times. By many measures, unemployment is as low as it has been in a decade. Yet the percentage of employees who are engaged in their work is frighteningly low. In fact, according to Gallup research, more than 65% of U.S. employees are not engaged or actively disengaged. Behind this statistic are real people just trudging through their workday. It seems a lot of workers are uninspired, deflated and not fulfilling their human potential.
The human cost of disengagement should be enough for executives to investigate and take action. We all spend a lot of time at work and with our colleagues. While competitive salary is important, research indicates that it\’s not enough to get employees engaged. As the Harvard Business Review observed, “The association between salary and job satisfaction is very weak.\” Yes, inadequate pay can make employees unhappy. But adequate pay doesn\’t directly correspond with happiness and engagement.
Aside from the human cost, there are real business consequences to a lack of employee engagement. In fact, unhappy employees cost American businesses over $300 billion each year. High attrition, for one, can drain a company\’s human capital and profits. But there is also a clear connection between employee engagement and customer satisfaction.
In your own life as a consumer, when was the last time you had a good experience with a company that had disengaged employees? When most companies try to solve customer satisfaction issues and low net promoter scores, they first think of customer experience (CX) processes and technology. But the best CX programs in the world are useless without an engaged workforce.
So, what can organizations do to improve employee engagement?
Invest in New Technologies
Of course, technology is important. Employees expect consumer-grade technology in the workplace. Disconnected systems force employees to spend time hunting for answers instead of servicing customers. Enterprise social networks can also help employees connect. Clearly, good technology and data management is a big factor in employee engagement.
Educate Managers on Smart Leadership
But good technology is not enough. The key to employee engagement is leadership. As Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic writes, “The biggest organizational cause of disengagement is incompetent leadership. Thus, as a manager, it\’s your personality that will have a significant impact on whether your employees are engaged at work, or not.\”
Encourage Free-Thinking
To truly increase employee engagement, it is important to inspire free-thinking across your organization. A company culture based on free-thinking allows employees to speak their minds, and it encourages the C-Suite to match individual worker values to organizational goals. Employees in this atmosphere know that their minds are respected. Employees feel heard, needed and appreciated.
A free-thinking culture inspires leaders to practice honesty, transparency and a “no bullsh*t\” communication style. Even if employees don\’t always like what you have to say, they\’ll trust and respect you for giving it to them straight. I\’ve found that direct reports welcome this approach. However, it\’s not just on the shoulders of executive management to lead with transparency; to achieve a company culture connected to high performance, all people managers must be on the same page.
Photo: Creative Commons
There is no magic potion to get employees engaged. Building a free-thinking culture arises from every interaction: from interviewing job candidates to counseling employees who are burned out. It is the job of leadership to model this behavior and address situations that damage the culture. So when executives think about employee engagement, the first place they should look is in the mirror.
In continuation of the convincing, courageous and commendable judgment delivered by the same Division Bench of Apex Court comprising of Justice Dr DF Chandrachud and Justice Ajay Rastogi on February 17, 2020 that favoured the extension of permanent commission for women in the armed forces so that gender equality is implemented in reality in the case titled The Secretary, Ministry of Defence vs Babita Puniya and others in Civil Appeal Nos 9367-9369 of 2011 with Civil Appeal Nos 1127-1128 of 2013 and with Civil Appeal No 1210 of 2020, we see once again that these same Judges have now in yet another case titled Union of India & Ors vs Lt Cdr Annie Nagaraja & Ors in Civil Appeal Nos 2182-87 of 2020 @ SLP (C) Nos. 30791-96 of 2015 along with others very clearly, convincingly and commendably held that serving women Short Service Commission Officers in Indian Navy were entitled to Permanent Commission at par with their male counterparts. We thus see that the Apex Court Bench thus upheld the 2015 Delhi High Court verdict which had upheld women officer’s claim in this regard! Very rightly so!
To be sure, women were not commissioned in the Navy till the issuance of notification dated 9th October 1991, whereby for the first time, the power under the enabling provision under Section 9(2) of the Navy Act was exercised to lay down that women would also be eligible for appointment as officers in the Indian Navy. But the induction of women was confined to four branches namely Logistics, Law, ATC and Education. It was also stated by the Ministry then that policy guidelines regarding permanent commission for women will be laid down in 1997. But such guidelines were not laid down until 2008. On 26th September 2008, the Ministry for the first time took a decision to grant permanent commission to SSC women officers in all the three forces. Regulation 203 of Chapter IX of the Indian Navy Act, 1957 puts no restriction to the grant of permanent commission either gender wise or category wise. But this offer was restricted to certain categories and was also to operate prospectively. As per this policy, only women officers inducted after January 2009 were eligible for permanent commission, that too only in the branches of education, law and naval architecture. The cadre of logistics and ATC which were opened to women for SSC in 1991 were excluded.
Before proceeding ahead, it would be instructive to now mention that the Delhi High Court Division Bench comprising of Justice Kailash Gambhir and Justice Najmi Wazri in Annie Nagaraja and others vs Union of India and others in W.P. (C) 7336/2010, CM Nos. 9348/2012 & 6859/2014 along with others have held the denial of permanent commission to women Short Service Commission (SSC) officers in the Indian Navy in different branches which includes the cadres of Education, ATC and logistics to be discriminatory. It is very rightly held in para 32 of this notable judgment while ordering that permanent commission should be offered to the petitioners that, “We fail to comprehend that when these petitioners along with the male officers had undertaken the same kind of training but nevertheless were denied permanent commission although the men were granted the permanent commission with no special merit except for the fact that they belong to the male sex. If this does not tantamount to gender discrimination then what else does?”
Needless to say, in this present case we see that the Apex Court was considering the appeals filed by the Union Ministry against a judgment delivered by the Delhi High Court on September 4, 2015 allowing the claim of women officers for permanent commission. While rejecting the appeals of the Union Government and upholding the Delhi High Court judgment, the Apex Court held that both male and female officers are to be treated equally in granting permanent commission in Indian Navy, once the statutory bar for inducting women in Navy was lifted. Discrimination on the ground of sex as we see here or on the ground of religion or on the ground of region or on any other ground can never be justified under any circumstances!
For the sake of brevity, let us now deal starightaway with the directions passed by the Apex Court in this landmark, latest and extremely laudable judgment. It is held in para 96 that, “We hold and direct that:
(i) The statutory bar on the engagement or enrolment of women in the Indian Navy has been lifted to the extent envisaged in the notifications issued by the Union Government on 9 October 1991 and 6 November 1998 under Section 9(2) of the 1957 Act;
(ii) By and as a result of the policy decision of the Union Government in the Ministry of Defence dated 25 February 1999, the terms and conditions of service of SSC officers, including women in regard to the grant of PCs are governed by Regulation 203, Chapter IX, Part III of the 1963 Regulations;
(iii) The stipulation in the policy letter dated 26 September 2008 making it prospective and restricting its application to specified cadres/branches of the Indian Navy shall not be enforced;
(iv) The provisions of the implementation guidelines dated 3 December 2008, to the extent that they are made prospective and restricted to specified cadres are quashed and set aside;
(v) All SSC officers in the Education, Law and Logistics cadres who are presently in service shall be considered for the grant of PCs. The right to be considered for the grant of PCs arises from the policy letter dated 25 February 1999 read with Regulation 203 of Chapter IX Part III of the 1963 Regulations. SSC women officers in the batch of cases before the High Court and the AFT, who are presently in service shall be considered for the grant of PCs on the basis of the vacancy position as on the date of judgments of the Delhi High Court and the AFT or as it presently stands, whichever is higher;
(vi) The period of service after which women SSC officers shall be entitled to submit applications for the grant of PCs shall be the same as their male counterparts;
(vii) The applications of the serving officers for the grant of PCs shall be considered on the basis of the norms contained in Regulation 203 namely: (i) availability of vacancies in the stabilised cadre at the material time; (ii) determination of suitability; and (iii) recommendation of the Chief of the Naval Staff. Their empanelment shall be based on inter se merit evaluated on the ACRs of the officers under consideration, subject to the availability of vacancies;
(viii) SSC officers who are found suitable for the grant of PC shall be entitled to all consequential benefits including arrears of pay, promotions and retiral benefits as and when due;
(ix) Women SSC officers of the ATC cadre in Annie Nagaraja’s case are not entitled to consideration for the grant of PCs since neither men nor women SSC officers are considered for the grant of PCs and there is no direct induction of men officers to PCs. In exercise of the power conferred by Article 142 of the Constitution, we direct that as a one-time measure, SSC officers in the ATC cadre in Annie Nagaraja’s case shall be entitled to pensionary benefits. SSC officers in the ATC cadre in Priya Khurana’s case, being inducted in pursuance of the specific representation contained in the advertisements pursuant to which they were inducted, shall be considered for the grant of PCs in accordance with directions (v) and (vi) above;
(x) All SSC women officers who were denied consideration for the grant of PCs on the ground that they were inducted prior to the issuance of the letter dated 26 September 2008 and who are not presently in service shall be deemed, as a one-time measure, to have completed substantive pensionable service. Their pensionary benefits shall be computed and released on this basis. No arrears of salary shall be payable for the period after release from service;
(xi) As a one-time measure, all SSC women officers who were before the High Court and the AFT who are not granted PCs shall be deemed to have completed substantive qualifying service for the grant of pension and shall be entitled to all consequential benefits; and
(xii) Respondents two to six in the Civil Appeals arising out of Special Leave Petition (C) Nos 30791-96 of 2015, namely Commander R Prasanna, Commander Puja Chhabra, Commander Saroj Kumar, Commander Sumita Balooni and Commander E Prasanna shall be entitled. In addition to the grant of pensionary benefits, as a one-time measure, to compensation quantified at Rs 25 lakhs each.”
Going forward, it is then held in para 97 that, “We affirm the clarification which has been issued in sub-para (a) of paragraph 50 of the impugned judgment and order of the Delhi High Court.”
Furthermore, it is then held in para 98 that, “Compliance with the above directions shall be effected within three months from the date of this judgment. We accordingly dispose of the appeals.”
Most significantly, it is very rightly and remarkably held in para 91 that, “Once the policy decision of the Union Government was communicated on 25 February 1999, the authorities were bound to consider the claims of the SSC officers for the grant of PC in terms of Regulation 203. The naval authorities and the Union Government failed to do so, depriving them of the entitlement to be considered for the grant of PC. By the failure of the authorities to consider the SSC officers for PCs in terms of the policy communication of 25 February 1999, SSC officers lost out on the opportunity to be granted PCs and all the responsibilities and benefits attached to the grant of PC, including promotions and pensionable service. The situation which has come to pass is due to the failure of the authorities to implement statutory notifications issued under Section 9(2) the policy statement of 25 February 1999 by which they were bound and as the decisions of the Delhi High Court and the AFT.”
Most remarkably, it is then further commendably held in this same para 91 ahead that, “These SSC officers cannot be left in the lurch and the injustice meted to them by lost years of service and the deprivation of retiral entitlements must be rectified. The injustice is a direct consequence of the authorities having breached their duties under law, as explained above. To deny substantive relief to the SSC officers would result in a situation where a breach of duty on the part of the authorities to comply with binding legal norms would go unattended. This would result in a serious miscarriage of justice to the SSC officers who have served the nation and is unsustainable in law.”
Equally heartening to note is that the Apex Court rejected the Centre’s objections based on physiological features of women as “gender stereotypes”! Justice Dr DY Chandrachud while reading the operative part of the judgment minced no words to state commendably that, “Performance at work and dedication to the cause of the nation are the surest answers to prevailing gender stereotypes. To deprive serving women officers of the opportunity to work as equals with men on PCs in the Indian Navy is plainly discriminatory. Furthermore, to contend that women officers are ill-suited to certain avocations which involve them being aboard ships is contrary to the equal worth of the women officers who dedicate their lives to serving in the cause of the nation.”
Words are short to commend these two Judges of the Apex Court – Justice Dr DY Chandrachud and Justice Ajay Rastogi who have delivered this extremely commendable judgment which has opened the door for permanent commission of women in the Navy just like earlier they by their order had similarly opened the doors of permanent commission of women in the Army! They rightly rejected the specious submission that women are not suited for sea sailing duties. It was laudably observed that, “It is impossible to countenance a submission that women cannot sail alongside men sailors.”
Eduindex 
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