Six-Day School Week | Kerala HC Quashes Decision To Make 25 Saturdays Working Days, Says Adverse Impact On Student's Mental Health Not Considered
Tellmy Jolly
1 Aug 2024 6:16 PM GMT
The Kerala High Court has quashed the decision of the Director of General Education in so far as it makes 25 Saturdays as working days out of 35 Saturdays in an academic year. The Court observed that the decision to implement a six day working week with Saturdays working was made without considering its adverse effects on the mental health of students.
In this case, several writ petitions were filed by teachers, their associations, students and parents challenging the competence of the Director of General Education by publishing the academic calendar for 2024-25 by making 25 Saturdays as school working days.
Justice Ziyad Rahman A.A. stated that the decision was taken without hearing the views of students, teachers, parents and other stakeholders. The Court observed that the decision was made without considering its advantages and disadvantages through any expert studies. It said:
"Education is a much more comprehensive package and not confined to academic studies alone, as it also includes the qualities that a student, acquire and imbibe through interactions with fellow students, teachers, parents, and other members of society, by creating, indulging in and maintaining relationships with each other, by caring, sharing, exchanging ideas and concepts between them, etc. Such interactions can occur only if the students are provided with ample opportunities for the same through recreational activities, sports, games, arts, or other methods that could implant within them an affinity towards social commitments and personal relationships. The activities of organizations such as NCC, NSS, etc., are also essential, and necessary provisions for the same are also to be made.”
Background
The petitioners argued that the Academic Calendar was published without hearing necessary stakeholders. The petitioners contended that the decision of making Saturdays as working days was a policy decision within the realm of the State Government and would require amendment of the Kerala Education Act and Rules. It was stated that the Director of General Education was an executive authority and lacked powers to make policy decisions.
The petitioners argued that Saturdays were treated as holidays even though the Kerala Education Act and Rules do not specifically declare Saturdays as holidays. It was stated Saturdays were made working days for all students uniformly without that considering that the Schedule of the Right To Education Act classifies students from 1st to 5th class as one group and 6th to 8th class as another group. It was also stated that Saturdays were set apart for extracurricular activities like NCC, NSS, sports, arts etc for a study-life balance of students.
On the other hand, the respondents submitted that not all Saturdays were made working, but only a few Saturdays to make up 220 total working days to comply with the statutory requirement in Rule 3, Chapter VII of KER. It was also submitted that Saturdays were chosen carefully to ensure that no unnecessary burden was cast upon the students. It was also stated that there are no provisions in the statute declaring Saturdays as holidays.
Findings
The Court found that it is an undeniable fact that Saturdays were treated as holidays for schools even when there is no statutory provision declaring it as holidays. The Court referred to Rule 4(3), Chapter VII of the KER, which allows schools with a majority of Muslim staff and students to designate Fridays as holidays instead of Saturdays. This rule implies that schools typically operate on a five-day workweek and that Saturdays are generally observed as holidays.
The Court further stated that the Director General of Education could not have made a deviation from the five-day working week practice by issuing an executive order without hearing stakeholders since it was a policy decision.
The Court said, “…the provisions in KER, by necessary implication, in the light of Rule 4(3) of Chapter VII, made the Saturdays as holidays and such stipulation is confirmed by the practice of following the system of five day week from Monday to Friday, for the past several decades. This amounts to a change in policy and deviation from the statute, which could have been done by the 1st respondent (state government) after following due process of law in this regard.”
It also noted that provisions of the Right to Education Act were not considered while making the academic calendar. It stated classification of students into different groups based on their classes in accordance to the Schedule of the Right to Education Act has to be considered while deciding upon the number of working days and instructional hours. The Court thus stated that if there is a repugnancy between the Right To Education Act which is a Central Act and the Kerala Education Rules which is a State enactment, the Central Act would prevail as per the Apex Court decision in Gambhirdhan K Gadhvi v State of Gujarat And Ors (2022).
The Court went on to state that making Saturdays as working days affects lakhs of students, thousands of teachers and staff and such a decision could not have been taken without hearing them. It said that this would also reduce quality time for extracurricular and recreational activities of students.
Rule 3 of Chapter VII of the KER provides for a minimum of 220 working days in a year, excluding examination days. The Court stated that the language of the provision do not call for a strict implementation. It also stated that the decision was taken without considering the views of stakeholders or other experts.
As such, the Court quashed the decision of the Director of General Education and the Academic Calendar to the extent it makes 25 Saturdays as working days in school. The Court directed the State Government to reconsider the matter by giving relevance to Central Statutes like the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 and after hearing the stakeholders and other experts.
Counsel for Petitioners: Senior Counsel Kurian George Kannanthanam, Advocates T.T. Muhamood, Cyriac Kurian, Sandesh Raj, Jestin Mathew, Siji Antony
Counsel for Respondents: Additional Advocate General Ashok M Cherian, Government Pleader Nisha Boss
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (Ker) 498
Case Title: Kerala Pradesh School Teacher's Association v State of Kerala & Connected Cases
Case Number: WP(C) NO. 21811 OF 2024 & Connected Cases
