HC scraps circular curtailing students' intake in schools

The Madras High Court today set aside a Directorate of Matriculation Schools order asking private schools to limit their intake of students in LKG and between standards six to eight to 30 and 35 respectively.

Justice N Kirubakaran quashed the October 31, 2013 order of the directorate on a plea by Punjab Association and also asked it to issue a separate circular in line with the RTE Act within eight weeks.

Setting aside the directorate's impugned proceedings dated July 31, 2013 and October 31, 2013 on admission of students, the bench said, "The Director of Matriculation Schools is directed to issue a separate circular in line with the RTE Act within eight weeks from the date of the receipt of the order."
 

"The impugned circular issued is hereby set aside," it added.

In its plea, Punjab Association had said it was running several educational institutions such as schools and colleges and training institutes, besides four matriculation schools in Chennai.

These schools had classes from pre-KG to 12th standard and they had been in existence for several decades, it added.

While referring to the RTE Act, the petitioner said that nowhere in the Act or rules, provisions had been prescribed for fixing the maximum number of students to be admitted per class.

The association said it received the impugned circular dated July 31, 2013 asking it to have no more than five sections per class in its schools and admit no more than 30 students per section of LKG and 35 students per section of classes between 6th and 8th in two years after issuance of the order.

Pointing out the Directorate's warnings to school managements in case of their failure to comply with the circulars' order, the petitioner said the RTE Act put no such limit on number of students to be admitted.

Contending that the RTE Act was brought with an intention to provide free and compulsory education to all children aged 6 to 14 years the association said the directorate's action amounted to the amendment of the Act and Rules by an executive order and as such the same was unsustainable in law.