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The Supreme Court has referred the issue of minority schools’ exemption from the RTE Act to a larger bench, questioning the 2014 Pramati verdict.
SC refers minority schools’ RTE exemption case to a larger bench.
The Supreme Court on Monday referred to a larger bench the issue of whether minority schools should remain outside the ambit of the Right to Education (RTE) Act, expressing doubts over its 2014 verdict in Pramati Educational and Cultural Trust, as reported by news agency PTI.
A bench comprising Justices Dipankar Datta and Manmohan noted with concern that the exclusion of minority institutions had “created a fertile ground for misuse,” citing materials including a study by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights.
“We hasten to observe with utmost humility at our command that the decision in Pramati Educational and Cultural Trust (supra) 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,” the bench said.
Article 21A guarantees the right to free and compulsory education for children aged six to fourteen. The RTE Act ensures that students receive basic infrastructure, trained teachers, books, uniforms, and mid-day meals. However, the court noted, minority schools excluded from the Act are not necessarily required to provide these facilities.
“Some minority schools might provide a few facilities as mandated by the RTE Act, but others may fall short leaving their students without access to such mandated facilities. For many of these students, such benefits are not just amenities but affirmations of belonging, equality, and recognition,” the bench highlighted.
The court also underlined the importance of uniform curricular standards set by the RTE Act, which guarantee quality education based on constitutional values. “Minority institutions, however, operate without such uniform guidelines, leaving children and their parents uncertain about what and how they are taught, and often disconnected from the national framework of universal learning,” it said.
The top court observed that instead of uniting children across caste, class, creed, and community, the current situation “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. What commenced as an attempt to protect cultural and religious freedoms has inadvertently created a regulatory loophole, leading to a surge in institutions seeking minority status to bypass the regime ordained by the RTE Act,” the court noted.
The Supreme Court framed four questions for the larger bench:
- Whether the Pramati judgment exempting minority institutions, aided or unaided, under Clause (1) of Article 30 from the entirety of the RTE Act, requires reconsideration.
- Whether the RTE Act infringes on the rights of minorities guaranteed under Article 30(1) and, if Section 12(1)(c) of the Act encroaches upon minority rights, whether it should be read to include children of the minority community belonging to weaker and disadvantaged groups. Section 12(1)(c) requires schools to admit at least 25% of students from weaker and disadvantaged sections and provide free education till completion.
- The effect of not considering Article 29(2) of the Constitution in Pramati, which states, “No citizen shall be denied admission into any educational institution maintained by the State or receiving aid out of State funds on grounds only of religion, race, caste, language or any of them.”
- Whether, in the absence of discussion in Pramati regarding unconstitutionality of provisions other than Section 12(1)(c), the entirety of the RTE Act should have been declared ultra vires minority rights protected by Article 30.
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Until the larger bench decides, the Supreme Court directed that the RTE Act will have to be followed by all schools except those established and administered by minorities, whether religious or linguistic.
The bench also addressed the issue of teacher eligibility under the Act. “We invoke our powers under Article 142 of the Constitution of India and direct that those teachers who have less than five years’ service left, as on date, may continue in service till they attain the age of superannuation without qualifying the TET,” it said.
It added, “Insofar as in-service teachers recruited before enactment of the RTE Act and having more than 5 years to retire on superannuation are concerned, they shall be under an obligation to qualify the TET within 2 years from the date to continue in service.”
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