The Hindu : Govt. bound to pre-empt minority schools closure: PIL

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Oct 23, 2002

Southern States

Southern States - Tamil Nadu

Govt. bound to pre-empt minority schools closure: PIL

By A. Subramani

CHENNAI OCT. 22. The Akhil Bharathiya Vidyarthi Parishad and the BJP's legal wing have filed public interest litigation petitions in the Madras High Court seeking to forbear all minority-managed educational institutions, which receive 100 per cent state aid, from closure on October 24 in protest the anti-conversion ordinance.

When the petitions came up for hearing today, the First Bench comprising the Chief Justice, B. Subhashan Reddy, and Justice C. Nagappan posted them for Wednesday, when the State Government should explain its stand.

G. Krishna, ABVP joint secretary, said that as most of these minority institutions were funded by the State and teachers' salaries paid from 100 per cent government grant, the state had a duty to issue instructions for regulating their conduct. It could even withdraw recognition if the institutions refused to fall in line.

Noting that despite publicity to the closure proposal, the Government had failed to take any preventive measure, the petitioner said, ``failure to act suo motu, directing the managements to desist from closing schools and colleges or compel students to participate in the rallies proposed by them amounts to flagrant dereliction of duty''.

The state authorities were duty-bound to issue instructions for pre-empting the move of these managements. The provisions of the Tamil Nadu Recognised Private Schools (Regulation) Act, the Tamil Nadu Compulsory Elementary Education Act, the Tamil Nadu Minority Schools (Recognition and Payment of Grant) Rules, etc, enjoined upon the institutions to comply with such instructions to safeguard the interests of teachers, parents and students.

Mr. Krishna prayed for a direction that the Government issue appropriate instructions not to close down the educational institutions on October 24.

The other petition, filed on behalf of the legal cell of the BJP, submitted that over 2 lakh students were being forced to indirectly participate in the strike.

Ordinance challenged

Meanwhile, a Tiruttani-based pastor, S. Thangaraj, has challenged the ordinance itself and prayed for a stay of its implementation. Noting that conversion had never been done through allurement or other fraudulent means, he said the enforcement of the measure would create fear in the minds of the minorities and would disturb the public tranquillity.

Also no complaints of forcible conversion had so far come from any part of the State, Mr. Thangaraj said. He sought to declare the ordinance null and void.

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