The Supreme Court on Monday expressed serious doubts about its own 2014 verdict that exempted religious and linguistic minority educational institutions from the provisions of the Right to Education (RTE) Act, saying the ruling “strikes at the heart of good quality universal elementary education, its consequences are far-reaching” and needs to be re-examined.
A two-judge bench, hearing pleas from Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra on whether passing the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) should be mandatory for appointment in minority-run schools, referred the matter to the Chief Justice of India to consider forming a larger bench. The court said putting minority institutions outside the Act’s ambit “would weaken the idea of inclusivity.”
Minority schools currently remain outside the law that governs teacher appointments and the provision of free education for underprivileged students.
The bench, comprising Justices Dipankar Datta and Manmohan, said the 2014 judgment in Pramati Educational and Cultural Trust had “essentially created a dichotomy between RTE under Article 21A and the collective rights under Article 30(1), which is about the right of minority communities to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice.”
Justice Datta, who penned the verdict, said, “We respectfully express our doubt as to whether Pramati Educational and Cultural Trust (case) (insofar as it exempts the application of the RTE Act to minority schools, whether aided or unaided, falling under clause (1) of Article 30 of the Constitution) has been correctly decided…Thus, ultimately, a reconsideration (of the judgment) seems unavoidable.”
The bench observed, “We hasten to observe with utmost humility at our command that the decision in Pramati Educational and Cultural Trust (case) might have, unknowingly, jeopardised the very foundation of universal elementary education. Exemption of minority institutions from the RTE Act leads to fragmentation of the common schooling vision and weakening of the idea of inclusivity and universality envisioned by Article 21A.”
It added, “We are afraid, instead of uniting children across caste, class, creed, and community, it reinforces ‘divides’ and ‘dilutes’ the transformative potential of shared learning spaces. If the goal is to build an equal and cohesive society, such exemptions move us in the opposite direction.”
The bench has framed four issues for the larger bench, including whether the 2014 verdict exempting minority educational institutions from the RTE Act requires reconsideration, noting that the exemption was being misused.
(With inputs from ToI)
A two-judge bench, hearing pleas from Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra on whether passing the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) should be mandatory for appointment in minority-run schools, referred the matter to the Chief Justice of India to consider forming a larger bench. The court said putting minority institutions outside the Act’s ambit “would weaken the idea of inclusivity.”
Minority schools currently remain outside the law that governs teacher appointments and the provision of free education for underprivileged students.
The bench, comprising Justices Dipankar Datta and Manmohan, said the 2014 judgment in Pramati Educational and Cultural Trust had “essentially created a dichotomy between RTE under Article 21A and the collective rights under Article 30(1), which is about the right of minority communities to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice.”
Justice Datta, who penned the verdict, said, “We respectfully express our doubt as to whether Pramati Educational and Cultural Trust (case) (insofar as it exempts the application of the RTE Act to minority schools, whether aided or unaided, falling under clause (1) of Article 30 of the Constitution) has been correctly decided…Thus, ultimately, a reconsideration (of the judgment) seems unavoidable.”
The bench observed, “We hasten to observe with utmost humility at our command that the decision in Pramati Educational and Cultural Trust (case) might have, unknowingly, jeopardised the very foundation of universal elementary education. Exemption of minority institutions from the RTE Act leads to fragmentation of the common schooling vision and weakening of the idea of inclusivity and universality envisioned by Article 21A.”
It added, “We are afraid, instead of uniting children across caste, class, creed, and community, it reinforces ‘divides’ and ‘dilutes’ the transformative potential of shared learning spaces. If the goal is to build an equal and cohesive society, such exemptions move us in the opposite direction.”
The bench has framed four issues for the larger bench, including whether the 2014 verdict exempting minority educational institutions from the RTE Act requires reconsideration, noting that the exemption was being misused.
(With inputs from ToI)
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