Education Has Become Unaffordable, State Has Constitutional Responsibility To Ensure Quality Education Reaches All Citizens: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court recently observed that education has become unaffordable, and the State has a Constitutional responsibility to ensure quality education reaches all the citizens of this country in order to achieve the growth and development of humanity.

“Although “education” is a pious in our culture but with change in time it has taken a different colour and has become unaffordable. It is the State's Constitutional responsibility to ensure quality education reaches all the citizens of this country to achieve the growth and development of humanity”, the court said.

A division bench of Justice AS Chandurkar and Justice Jitendra Jain opined that granting Letter of Intent (LoI) for establishing new colleges in the State only to institutions with prior experience in education could lead to a monopolistic situation, hindering the entry of new institutions.

However, experience in running educational institutions is crucial to assess their capability to establish new ones, the court said, adding that it is essential to strike a balance to ensure a level playing field.

The court suggested, “there should be fixed parameters based on the report of the University on the basis of which the Applicants are considered for grant of Letter of Intent. One way could be granting certain points for each of the parameters and thereafter aggregating the same to come to a conclusion that a particular Institution is eligible for grant of Letter of Intent.”

However, the court clarified that these are merely suggestions, and left the implementation to the discretion of the state authorities.

The court noted that Pune, often called the "Oxford of the East", is a hub of educational institutions attracting students from across India and beyond. The growth and competition in setting up colleges have led to litigation, as various entities vie for space in the educational landscape, the court remarked.

The court made these observations while dealing with a writ petition by a charitable trust concerning the establishment of a new college in Taluka-Haveli, Pune. The petition challenged a Government Resolution dated April 20, 2022, by the Maharashtra Education Department. The GR granted LoI to start a new college to three other organizations, while denying the petitioner.

The Savitribai Phule Pune University prepared a plan for 5 years namely 2018-2019 to 2022-2023 for increasing the number Arts, Commerce and Science colleges in the Pune, Ahmednagar and Nashik Districts. Thus, the state sought applications for setting up new colleges. The petitioner submitted its proposal in December 2017. Despite fulfilling the eligibility criteria and even receiving preference from the university, the petitioner was ultimately denied the LoI by the state government.

Three organizations were granted LoI on the grounds that their institutions were established between 1991 and 1998, they had multiple schools and colleges, their financial position was stronger, and one of them had accreditation from NAAC.

On the other hand, the petitioner was denied the LoI because the institution was comparatively new, established in 2005, their financial position was weaker compared to others, they did not have any schools or colleges under their umbrella, and their movable and immovable properties were fewer compared to those of the other institutions to which LoI were issued. The petitioners approached the high court challenging this decision.

The Section 109 of Maharashtra Public Universities Act, 1960 (MPU Act) governs the procedure for granting permission to establish new colleges. The court said that under section 109 while the state's discretion in granting LoI is broad, it must be exercised considering relevant factors such as the suitability of the management, financial capacity, and location priorities.

The court noted that the provisions of the MPU Act were not challenged in the petition. The petitioners had specifically contested the decision of the authorities to grant LoI to certain parties while denying it to them.

The court emphasized the limited scope of judicial review, noting that decisions regarding the establishment of new colleges/institutions are policy-based. It stated that while the court cannot intervene in the policy decision of the state but can review the decision-making process and examine whether it is tainted by arbitrariness, unfairness, illegality, or irrationality.

In the present case, the court concluded that the reasons provided for granting the LoI to other parties and denying it to the petitioner were not arbitrary or unreasonable. Factors such as prior experience, financial position, and infrastructure are relevant and consistent with the MPU Act, the court said.

However, the court emphasized the need for a balanced approach to encourage new entrants while considering the experience of existing institutions.

Case no. – Writ Petition No. 6256 of 2022

Case title – M/s. Jagruti Foundation, Pune v. State of Maharashtra and Ors.