SC upholds closure of Kerala school

There are fears that this could become a dangerous precedent

June 07, 2016 01:35 am | Updated December 04, 2021 11:12 pm IST - NEW DELHI:

In a blow to Right to Education in the country, the Supreme Court on Monday upheld a manager’s right to close down a 45-year-old aided upper primary school in Kerala despite fervent pleas by the State government and parents to protect the fundamental right of children to free education.

In a State that boasts 100 per cent literacy, this is likely to become a dangerous precedent, with Additional Solicitor General Pinky Anand, appearing for the Kerala government, indicating that more such schools had applied for closure.

‘Not illegal’

The State government had challenged a May 29 order of the Kerala High Court upholding the school manager’s right to close down the aided school under the provisions of the Kerala Education Act and Rules, provided the manager gave a year’s due notice of his intention. It said the manager’s right was circumscribed by the provisions of Rule 6 (10) of the Kerala Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Rules, 2011. The court, however, was not convinced. “How is this action [of closing down the school] illegal? Did your school apply for recognition under RTE within the time prescribed by law? RTE Act does not allow you to run a school when you don’t have the right to run it,” the Bench observed, while dismissing the State’s petition.

The State argued that the children cannot be made to suffer because the manager of the institution, Malaparamba Aided Upper Primary School in Kozhikode district of Kerala, did not apply for RTE recognition. It argued that it was the “duty and responsibility” of the manager to make a declaration under the RTE Act.

“If managers of aided schools are allowed to close down the school, taking advantage of their own failure to make a self-declaration under the RTE Act or apply for recognition under the Act, it will adversely affect the objective and purpose of the RTE Act. Managers will make use of this situation and close schools for commercial benefits,” the State warned.

Top News Today

Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.