Court Battles in Maharashtra and Karnataka on RTE ACT
Sudhir Paranjape
AFTER over a decade of implementation, the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009, is facing considerable controversy, especially with regard to the implementation of section 12(1)(c). This article takes stock of the manner in which this provision of the RTE Act has been implemented in the two neighbouring states of Maharashtra and Karnataka. It also highlights the grave implication of following the Karnataka path in the matter of protection of children's right to free and compulsory education.
As per section 12(1)(c) of the RTE Act, private unaided institutions and special category schools have to provide free and compulsory education to at least 25 per cent children belonging to disadvantaged groups and weaker sections admitted to class I or pre-primary classes. Such schools are also entitled to reimbursement at the rate of the per-child cost incurred by the Government.
A comparative study of the implementation of section 12(1)(c) in various states and union territories for the period 2012 to 2022-23 has been published by INDUS ACTION in their Bright Spots Report 2023, from which, the data pertaining to the states of Karnataka and Maharashtra from 2014-15 onwards is seen in the graph.
Enrollment figures under Sec.12(1)(c) in Karnataka rose steadily and peaked in 2018-19, reaching 6.39 lakhs. In a dramatic reversal, these admissions in Karnataka have fallen steadily thereafter reaching 3.45 lakhs in 2022-23, whereas the Maharashtra, enrollment figures under the same provision have steadily increased. In particular, during the period of 2018-19 to 2022-23, they rose from 2.54 lakhs to 4.71 lakhs.
Karnataka Amendment Ruined Quota
The contrast in the trends in the two states after 2018-19 is due to an amendment to the Karnataka RTE Act Rules 2012 on January 30, 2019, by the state government, which drastically revised the conditions under which students could apply for a seat under Sec.12(1)(c) of the RTE Act. As per the revised conditions, parents cannot admit their children to a private, unaided school under the RTE quota if there is a government or government-aided school in their locality.
This amendment to the RTE Act Rules was challenged in the Karnataka High Court through Public Interest Litigations filed by Education Rights Trust, RTE Students and Parents Association, and some individuals. It was prayed that the said amendment be declared null and void on the grounds that it is in violation of the Fundamental Right of children guaranteed under Article 21-A of the Constitution of India. However, the High Court refused to grant the prayer and dismissed the PILs. This order has been challenged by the petitioners in the Supreme Court, and it has been pending there since 2019.
Meanwhile, there has been an adverse impact on admissions under Sec.12(1)(c) in Karnataka, as can be seen from the figures above. This is causing concern among RTE activists. As reported by the print media, in some of the districts, like Bengaluru, not a single private school comes under RTE quota.
Maharashtra Takes Different Path
However, a similar situation has been averted in Maharashtra. The state government of Maharashtra, following the footsteps of Karnataka, amended the Maharashtra RTE Act Rules, 2011 on February 9, 2024, by adding a proviso that a private unaided school shall not be identified for the purpose of 25 per cent admission of disadvantaged groups in localities where government schools and aided schools are situated within radius of one kilometer of that school. Such unaided schools would not be eligible for any reimbursement.
In Mumbai, the Anudanit Shiksha Bachao Samiti (ASBS), Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) and some other organisations challenged this amendment legally by filing Writ Petitions and PILs in the Bombay High Court.
The situation was examined exhaustively by the Bombay High Court and one of their crucial observations was: “The State's right to provide free and compulsory education under Article 21-A of the Constitution of India is almost unlimited. The State can only decide this by making a law and once the law is framed in the form of the RTE Act, it is mandatory under Article 12(1) that private unaided schools will also be part of such mandatory duty.”
Most importantly, with regard to the reliance of the state of Maharashtra on the Order of the Karnataka High Court, the Bombay High Court noted that “we have gone through the reasoning given by the Karnataka High Court in the said case to which we do not find ourself in agreement.”
In sharp contrast with the Karnataka High Court, the Bombay High Court declared the Maharashtra amendment invalid on account of being against the RTE Act and Article 21-A of the Constitution of India. The Supreme Court has dismissed the appeal of private schools against this order of the Bombay High Court. This legal victory once again opened the doors of admission under Sec.12(1)(c) of the RTE Act without the above amendment.
The amendments were intended to generate huge profits by commercialising education, especially at the pre-primary level, where a large portion of ill-gotten wealth is siphoned off. The above Court battles over implementation of the RTE Act in Maharashtra and Karnataka reflect an intensifying struggle between socially and economically backward sections and the respective governments over the entitlement of children of these sections to free and compulsory education as guaranteed by the Constitution. It is also a signal that 21st century India should come to grips with this issue and resolve it decisively.
