Interim relief to schools in Maharashtra to hold online sessions for Class 1 and 2 students

The Bombay high court (HC), as an interim relief, directed the state to not take any coercive action against schools that are conducting online classes in contravention

The Bombay high court (HC), as an interim relief, directed the state to not take any coercive action against schools that are conducting online classes in contravention of the June 15 government resolution (GR) which did not permit institutes to hold online classes upto Class 2. The court directed the state to file its response in a week and posted the matter for hearing on August 7.

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Meanwhile, the court also directed the schools from taking action against those students who do not wish to cannot attend online classes.

A division bench of justice Ujjal Bhuyan and justice NR Borkar, while hearing a petition filed by Parents Teachers Associations of United Forum and two parents, was informed by advocate Swaraj Jadhav that the June 15 notification lacked scientific reasoning and also violated the fundamental right of children to education.

Jadhav submitted that the two parents who petitioned were aggrieved by the restrictive guideline as their children were left without education, and hence the court should set aside the notification as it also put restrictions on the number of hours that the school could conduct online classes. Jadhav further submitted that as schools were willing to provide online classes for children of all age groups, the notification was discriminatory and hence should be set aside.

The state, through additional government pleader Bhupesh Samant, however, opposed the petition and said that the decision in the notification was based on scientific reasoning and also meant to safeguard children studying in Class 1 and 2 from being exposed to the harmful effects of computers or mobile phones, through which the online classes would be conducted, Samant said.