NGO moves SC against RTE verdict

Social Jurist, an NGO, has approached the Supreme Court to challenge the Delhi high court verdict, which had held that the Right to Education (RTE) Act was not applicable to nursery admission in unaided private schools.

Social Jurist, an NGO, has approached the Supreme Court to challenge the Delhi High Court verdict, which had held that the Right to Education (RTE) Act was not applicable to nursery admission in unaided private schools.

HT Image

In its appeal, Social Jurist claimed the high court had erred in holding that the Act applied only to admissions of children between the ages of 6 and 14. The NGO had been the petitioner in the case before the high court.

In its petition before the apex court, the NGO stated that the HC was not correct in declaring that Section 13 of the Act was formulated in context of rampant screening practices adopted by private unaided schools in nursery admissions. “It was to correct this mischief that the said provision was incorporated,” the appeal states.

The HC had on February 19 dismissed its petition which challenged the points-system followed by schools in nursery admissions. The high court bench headed by the Chief Justice had, however, asked the Centre to consider amending the Act to include nursery education and said that the schools cannot be allowed to run as ‘teaching shops’ as it would be ‘detrimental to equal opportunity to children’.