Pune: The All India Socialist Teachers' Association (AISTA) challenged the changes made by the State Government’s School Education Department to the RTE admission process in the High Court.
The court has declared these changes unconstitutional. In light of this, Prof. Sharad Javadekar, Executive President of AISTA, expressed that this is a victory for the values of social justice.
According to the Right to Education (RTE) Act, 25% of seats in private unaided schools are reserved for children from socially and economically disadvantaged groups in the first grade or pre-primary admission stage.
Over the past ten years, around 700,000 children in the state have benefited from this provision. However, due to the state's failure to reimburse fees to private schools on time, there have been ongoing disputes between educational institutions and parents.
On February 9, 2024, the Maharashtra Government issued a notification amending the admission process, prioritizing admissions to government, local authority, and aided schools.
Only if these schools were not available near the child's home would admission to private unaided schools be considered. This change was also implemented in the admission process, which AISTA challenged in court.
The court had previously stayed this decision and has now given a final verdict declaring the changes unconstitutional.
Prof. Javadekar stated that the government attempted to avoid the responsibility of fee reimbursement by denying the 25% free education quota in private unaided schools.
However, this notification was a blatant violation of the RTE Act and trampled on the values of social justice enshrined in the law. Hence, AISTA filed a public interest litigation in the Mumbai High Court.
The Movement for Peace and Justice had also filed a similar petition. The Mumbai High Court accepted the stance of AISTA and the parents, annulled the notification and subsequent government decisions, and upheld the 25% reservation in private unaided schools.
Prof. Javadekar hailed this as a victory for the Indian Constitution and the values of social justice it upholds. He also demanded that the Education Department complete the RTE admission process within 15 days.