RTE Act : Supreme Court Affirms Bombay HC Judgment Quashing 25% Quota Exemption For Private Schools If Govt-Run Schools Existed Nearby

The Supreme Court today (August 9) refused to interfere with the Bombay High Court's judgment which struck down the Maharashtra amendment to the Right to Education Act 2009 exempting private schools from providing the 25% quota in Class I or Pre-school for children of disadvantaged sections, if there is a government-run or aided school within 1 km radius of that private school.

A bench of CJI DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra dismissed a Special Leave Petition filed by the Association of Indian Schools against the High Court's judgment.

During the hearing, CJI observed :

"Children belonging to the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS), they must get an opportunity to school in good schools. Merely because the government school in Mumbai are within 1 Km radius, to say that private schools should be exempted from the Right to Education Act...Ultimately if we want to give children from EWS a real chance in life, they must be given education in good schools. Why would a parent want to send their child to a municipal school, when they have access to a good school?"  

Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi appearing for the Association of Indian Schools mainly contended that as per the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 the primary duty is on the state agencies to ensure that children from the marginalised sections get adequate schooling and that it would be incorrect to impose this obligation on private agencies/schools. In contending so, he relied on S.6 of the RTE Act which states that it is the duty of appropriate Government and local authority to establish schools. 

He submitted that the High Courts of Karnataka and Allahabad have taken contrary views and the petitions arising from those decisions are pending in the Supreme Court.

Giving A Fair Chance Of Private Schooling To Underprivileged Students Would Also Break The 'Cocoon' Of Privileged Ones: CJI Explains 

The CJI emphasized that integrating students from diverse socio-economic backgrounds in private schools can lead to a more well-rounded education for all. He pointed out that a mixed social interaction also allows privileged students to gain a true understanding of India's diverse society and the struggles of people from different economic strata.

"It also fosters good education for students belonging to resourceful backgrounds. Because they (privileged children) interact with children from marginalized backgrounds, their quality of education as much improves- they truly understand what India is." 

The CJI expressed that children from affluent families often live in a "cocoon" surrounded by luxuries such as expensive gadgets and frequent travel. He argued that this lifestyle can isolate them from the realities faced by many of their fellow citizens. By studying alongside students from marginalized backgrounds, the privileged children can develop a more accurate perception of their country.

"Otherwise children belonging to very good families, they live in a cocoon of fancy gadgets, travel etc., they must understand what the real country is like. That's the way we make good citizens for the future." 

In expressing so, the CJI took the example of the Sanskriti School where children from near slums and EWS backgrounds get schooling at par with privileged children. He also addressed that even in such a case, the children from EWS face difficulties in adjusting to an affluent environment, but that in turn makes one realize the actual realities of the Country. 

"That is what life in India is all about. How can we say that you are only going to interact with children belonging to like economic strata."  

A Mixed Interaction Of Students From Different Social Backgrounds Help Me Get A Holistic Understanding Of India : CJI Shares His Personal Experience

Speaking from his personal experience, the CJI also shared how he was the first in his family to obtain education in an English medium school, while his parents did Marathi schooling. He opined how his parents decision to shift him to a better school in Delhi helped him get a holistic understanding of the social dynamics of the country. 

He also shared how during his time as a college student in Delhi University, he got to interact with students from the North Eastern states and learnt about their life experiences, something would not have been possible without a flexible shift in the education choice he made. 

" Coming to a school in Delhi, I got much more holistic understanding of the life and Indian society because you have friends, colleagues from different strata.....The Delhi University , I saw people from Northeast coming to study with us. When those students came to study we understood what the problems in the Northeast were." 

The bench ultimately dismissed the challenge. 

Background 

The State of Maharashtra had made amendments to exempt private schools from providing 25% quota in Class I or Pre-school for children of disadvantaged sections, if there is a government-run or aided school within 1 km radius of that private school. 

The decision was taken by the State this year by amending the Maharashtra Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Rules, 2011. 

A division bench of Chief Justice Devendra Upadhyaya and Justice Amit Borkar set-aside the Rules as unconstitutional and ultra-vires to the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 (RTE Act).

Case Details : ASSOCIATION OF INDIAN SCHOOLS Versus STATE OF MAHARASHTRA AND ORS. SLP(C) No. 17770/2024

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