The face off
- Hueiyen Lanpao Editorial :: January 26 2013 -
The present confrontation between the State Government and the authorities of Catholic schools in Manipur over the latter's decision to conduct admission tests for students seeking enrolment at the elementary level is something that was only waiting to be happened.
Similar face-off between the State authorities and the Catholic schools have been witnessed in other parts of the country in the wake of the April 12, 2012 Supreme Court judgment over the case of Society of Unaided Private Schools of Rajasthan Versus Union of India, wherein the apex court held that 'Right to Education Act can be imposed against the schools defined under Section 2(n) of the Act, except unaided minority and non-minority schools not receiving any kind of aid or grants to meet their expenses from the appropriate Government or local authorities'.
On the basis of this judgment, the authorities of the Catholic Schools in Manipur have outrightly turned down the appeal of the State Government to put on hold the proposed admission tests on January 28.
Authorities of Catholic Schools have contended imposition of such a stricture would amount to infringement on the fundamental rights to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice guaranteed to religious minorities under Article 30(1) of Constitution of India.
On the other hand, the State Government has countered that the said Supreme Court judgment deals with the question of compulsory reservation of 25 percent seats for members of the weaker and disadvantaged sections of the society and nowhere it has questioned the applicability or otherwise of Section 13 of Right to Education Act which clearly states that no parent or student should be subjected to any form of screening for the purpose of admission to children upto 14 years of age.
It's true that the rights of the poor children to get free education has remained in peril with several well known private schools run by minority organizations denying their obligation under the Right to Education (RTE) Act, citing the Supreme Court verdict.
This is despite the fact that the judgment of apex court has made a clear distinction between aided and unaided minority institutions.
Earlier only those institutions getting financial grants were called aided, but now getting any kind of benefit will make the institution aided.
This includes getting land at cheap rates or on lease. Several schools demanding exemption from RTE Act have received land from the Government and thus are aided.
Having said so, we just wonder why any parents would make a beeline for admission of their children to expensive private schools (whether Catholic or non-Catholic) instead of sending them to Government schools where education would come free, if the Government had not abdicated the responsibility of making its schools functional.
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