SC directs authorities to frame rules for implementing RTE Act's mandate of reserved seats

New Delhi, Jan 13 (PTI) Observing that granting admissions to poor kids in educational institutions "must be a national mission", the Supreme Court directed authorities on Tuesday to frame rules to ensure that the 25 per cent quota in admissions for children from economically and socially weaker sections in private unaided non-minority schools is implemented.

The court said the grant of admission to kids from the EWS category is "an obligation of the appropriate government and the local authority. Equally, courts, be it constitutional or civil, must walk that extra mile to provide easy access and efficient relief to parents who complain of denial of the right".

The bench was dealing with aspects relating to difficulties faced by EWS category students in getting admissions under the Right to Education (RTE) Act, which has mandated 25 per cent reservation for such children in private unaided non-minority schools.

A bench of Justices P M Narasimha and Atul S Chandurkar was hearing a special leave petition filed by a man whose children were not admitted to a neighbourhood school for free and compulsory elementary education in 2016, despite the availability of seats, following which he moved the Bombay High Court.

The high court rejected his petition on the ground that he had failed to apply in accordance with the online procedure for filling the reserved seats.

The bench said "unfortunately", the petition against the high court's order was pending for long.

"However, to ensure that this situation shall not revisit parents like the petitioner again and again, we considered it appropriate to take up the case for precedent-making and decided to examine the efficiency and effectiveness of the procedures for complying with the mandate of (the RTE Act's) section 12 (extent of school's responsibility for free and compulsory education)," it added.

The bench said it had appointed an amicus curiae (friend of the court) who highlighted various reasons for the reserved seats being inaccessible to the weaker and disadvantaged groups.

These included the online application process, which ignored the prevalent digital illiteracy, the language barrier, lack of helpdesks to assist the parents or guardians, lack of information about the availability of seats, absence of transparency in the admission process and uncertainty about the forums for redressal of grievances.

"We are of the opinion that it is necessary and compelling to formulate subordinate legislation by issuing necessary rules and regulations, prescribing the method and manner by which children of weaker and disadvantaged sections are to be admitted in neighbourhood schools," the bench said.

It underlined that without such enforceable rules and regulations, the objective of Article 21A (right to education) of the Constitution and the statutory policy under section 12(1)(c) (25 per cent EWS reservation) of the RTE Act would be "a dead letter".

"In view of the above, we direct the appropriate authorities to prepare and issue, in consultation with the NCPCR (National Commission for Protection of Child Rights) and SCPCRs (state commissions), as the case may be, as well as the national and state advisory councils, necessary rules and regulations under section 38 of the RTE Act for implementing the mandate of section 12(1)(c) of the Act," the bench said.

Section 38 of the RTE Act gives powers to the appropriate government to make rules and for the laying of rules and notifications made before each house of Parliament. PTI MNR RC