SC notice to central, state governments on RTE plea

The Supreme Court Friday issued notice to the central and state governments on a plea seeking enforcement of the right of 37.7 million children to be admitted in schools under the Right to Education Act.

A bench of Chief Justice P.Sathasivam, Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice M.Y.Eqbal issued notice on a PIL which sought the construction of about 150,000 new schools or expansion of the existing institutions.

The petition moved by NGO National Coalition for Education sought the recruitment of one lakh professionally-trained teachers each month to cover the shortfall of 12 lakh teachers within one year.

Moved by the NGO national convenor Rama Kant Rai, the PIL has sought nine directions covering different areas to comply with the provisions of the Right to Education Act.

Appearing for the petitioner, senior counsel Colin Gonsalves told the court that the statistics given in the PIL were taken from the government sources and different reports. He said that augmentation of infrastructure facilities including recruitments of teaches should be completed within one year.

"States may have problem. In any case we will look into it," said Chief Justice Sathasivam as Gonsalves reeled out the statistics pointing to the mammoth exercise that had to be undertaken for covering all the school going children under the mandate of the RTE act.

Pointing to several reports, the court was told that there was a "systematic and widespread violation of children's right to education across the country" including non-compliance of the several specific requirements under the Right to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009.

The NGO - a network of organisations committed to right to education - has sought direction to all the states and union territories to ensure that all the private schools earmark and admit the students under the Economically Weaker Section quota as provided under the RTE Act.