A contempt petition has been filed under Right to Education Act (RTE) against the Gujarat government for not following with the High Court’s 2018 order. The court had ordered that all private schools must reserve 25% seats under Compulsory and Free Education Act for the underprivileged children. However, this order has not yet being complied with, the petitioner, Sandeep Munjayasara, said. Even the newer schools do not have this provision.
During the court hearing, the bench of Chief Justice Arvind Kumar, expressed displeasure with the government and said asked the secretary to be present in person before any other action can be taken. Slamming the government for not complying with the direct order, the court said that no matter how old or new the private school is, all must reserve seats for the poor children and offer free education to them.
On the other hand the representative of the government has insisted that all District Education Offices (DEO) have been instructed to solicit applications under RTE from all private schools. It remains to be seen whether the new schools will come under its purview.
Gujarat government has lately come under fire for its poorly managed education system. Conditions and facilities at the government schools are despicable and the private school are extracting high fees from the common people. There is also a demand that the private schools be banned from hiking fees any further. However, the state seems to have taken no action regarding any of these problems.
