Staff Reporter
Guwahati: The Gauhati High Court expressed its displeasure at the state government’s failure till now to fully implement the Right to Education (RTE) for children as the private schools are yet to provide free education to students from weaker or disadvantaged sections of society, despite the HC’s earlier orders to that effect.
The HC’s division bench of Justice Manash Ranjan Pathak and Justice Susmita Phukan Khaund was hearing a case (PIL/30/2023) filed by We for Guwahati Foundation and two others regarding the implementation of Section 12(1)(c) under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, in Assam.
Section 12(1)(c) of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, provides for education in private, unaided schools to the extent of at least 25 percent of the strength of a class for children belonging to weaker sections and disadvantaged groups in the neighbourhood of the school. Section 12(1)(c) as well as its proviso also clarifies that once an admission is made either in Class-I or in Pre-primary classes, where available, the students under that category should be provided with free and compulsory elementary education till its completion, i.e., up to Class-VIII as per the said 2009 Act.
To gloss over the state government’s failure to implement Section 12(1)(c) of the 2009 Act, the state government provided the details of some measures adopted, like the launch of a portal and communication to Education Department officials to submit a report regarding admissions of students under the 2009 Act. It was also submitted that admissions to some of the unaided non-minority schools are still pending.
During the hearing, it was submitted by R. Mazumdar, the Standing Counsel for the Department of School Education, that a dedicated portal in the Department of School Education for effective implementation of the provisions of Section 12(1)(c) of the said 2009 Act has been made ready and that such a portal will come into effect after the ensuing Parliamentary Election gets over as per the decision of the Cabinet, as presently the Model Code of Conduct due to the election is in force.
Mazumdar also placed a communication from the Director of Elementary Education, Assam, whereby the District Elementary Education Officers and the District Primary Education Officers have been asked to submit a report with regard to admissions of the students under the category of Section 12(1)(c) of the 2009 Act that was communicated to all the concerned authorities on February 7, 2024, and that the report is awaited.
The counsel also pointed out that, as per a government memo, if any irregularities are noticed during the process of admissions and imparting education, the parents may intimate the respective Block Elementary Education Officer in writing.
Mazumdar submitted that during the admission period of 2023–24 in elementary schools relating to Class-I or Pre-primary classes, the Elementary Education Department did not receive any such objections from the concerned Block Elementary Education Officers.
It was also submitted that the admissions of Class-I or the Pre-primary classes in such unaided non-minority schools are still going on and yet to be over. The bench observed that considering that the admissions in some of the unaided non-minority schools are still pending, the matter should be listed again on May 9, 2024, enabling the authorities in the School Education Department of the State to place the up-to-date status regarding the admissions of students in such schools in the state, as prescribed in Section 12(1)(c) of the 2009 Act.
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