SC refuses to restore Maharashtra order exempting private schools from RTE quota admissions
Children from the Economically Weaker Sections category must attend good schools, Chief Justice DY Chandrachud said.
Join our WhatsApp Community to receive travel deals, free stays, and special offers!
- Join Now -
Join our WhatsApp Community to receive travel deals, free stays, and special offers!
- Join Now -
The Supreme Court on Friday upheld a Bombay High Court verdict quashing the Maharashtra government’s exemption to private schools located within a one-kilometre radius of government or aided schools from adhering to reservations in admissions under the Right to Education Act, Bar and Bench reported.
A bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud with Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra dismissed the plea by the Association of Indian Schools challenging the July 19 High Court order.
The Right to Education Act mandates the reservation of 25% of the seats in private unaided schools at the entry level – Class 1 or the pre-primary section – for children from economically weaker and disadvantaged sections.
The government reimburses the tuition fees of these students, which allows them to get their education free of cost at these schools.
On Friday, Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing the Association of Indian Schools, argued that under the Act, it is the primary duty of state agencies to ensure that children from the marginalised sections get adequate schooling, Live Law reported.
Hence, he contended, it would be incorrect to impose this obligation on private schools.
However, the bench said that providing education to children from the marginalised sections is about quality and not just quantity, reported Bar and Bench.
“Children from the Economically Weaker Sections category must attend good schools,” the...
