Supreme Court issues notice to Punjab govt over plea alleging failure to implement EWS quota in schools

The Supreme Court on Monday, June 15, issued a notice to Bhagwant Mann-led Punjab government on a plea alleging continued non-implementation of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009, that has allegedly resulted in the denial of free education to children belonging to weaker sections and disadvantaged groups.

The order was passed by the Bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justice V. Mohana after hearing the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by K.S. Raju Legal Trust through its representative, Dr Jagmohan Singh Raju, IANS reported.

Advertisement

The petitioner informed the apex court that several private schools in the state have failed to implement the mandate under Section 12(1)(c) of the RTE Act that requires private unaided non-minority schools to reserve at least 25 per cent seats at the entry level for children coming from economically weaker sections and disadvantaged groups.

While referring to the government’s response, the CJI observed that a counter affidavit has confirmed admissions under the economically weaker sections (EWS) category in private schools.

Thereafter, the petitioner stated that while at least 50,000 students ought to have been admitted under the EWS quota, information via Right to Information (RTI) Act has showed that some schools had not admitted even a single child under the scheme for nearly 15 years.

Regarding this, the apex court advised the petitioner to undertake a comprehensive study and receive more data on the number of recognised private schools and admissions made under the RTE quota.

“Conduct a study and find out how many schools have refused it. RTI has to be framed intelligently. See how many private schools are recognised, how many admissions have been made,” the Supreme Court remarked, besides listing the matter for further hearing on August 17.

In the plea, it was stated that the statutory mandate under Section 12(1)(c) remained “substantially unimplemented” in Punjab ever since the law came into force in 2009.