The Supreme Court of India will be checking the validity of the Karnataka Government rule that excused unaided and private schools in the state from admitting 25 percent students belonging to the Socially and Economically backward class to class one. The rule is applicable only if there are aided and government schools in the vicinity of an unaided or private school.

The Supreme Court bench, headed by Justice N.V Ramana issued the notice on Monday, 19th August, to the state government of Karnataka as per a petition filed that challenges the validity of the 2019 amendment to the Right to Education (RTE) Act.

On 31st May, 2019, the High Court of Karnataka upheld the constitutional validity of the amendment of rule 4 of the Karnataka Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Rules, 2012. Advocate Meenakshi Arora represented the petitioner, who in the petition stated that the effect of the amendment “where a government or aided school existed in a particular neighbourhood, private, unaided schools would be exempted from their obligation, under Section 12(1)(c) of the RTE Act, to admit, in class I, to the extent of at least 25 per cent of the strength of the class, children from weaker sections and disadvantaged groups.” Hence, under this section, the obligation upon a private or unaided school would be valid only if there is no government or aided school in the neighbourhood.

The petitioner, RTE Students, and Parents Association, submitted a petition that the Karnataka High Court ignored the RTE Act. It stated that “private and unaided schools shall admit the required number each year, with the obligation being absolute and not subject to any future proposed expansion of government schools.”

Source: IANS