‘Minority’ tag must go if RTE being evaded, PIL urges HC

Mumbai: State government must hold an inquiry and cancel the minority certificates of educational institutions that are evading Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009, a public interest litigation urged Bombay high court.It is filed by advocate Arvind Tiwari whose 13 year old son was expelled from Ghatkopar’s P G

Garodia School

“for the activities of his father”.

Tiwari

had filed a

PIL

to cancel 10 & 12 ICSE board exams in July 2020 and also intervened in a petition by Association of Schools, challenging the state’s fee reduction to parents due to Covid-19 lockdown in 2020-21.Tiwari’s petition says he is placing facts of Garodia school, “a test case” to bring before HC the manner in which minority educational institutions availed minority certificates to evade RTE that guarantees students till 14 years elementary education. It refers to the March 2021 report of National Commission for Protection of Child Rights whose survey, across India of 23,487 minority schools concluded that nationally 62.5 % of students in minority schools are non-minorities and it is over 70% in many states. “In the instant case, it is 84.5%,” the petition states, informing that as per the February 2016 report of education inspector (N ward) out of 1,639 students of Garodia School, 284 belonged to Marwadi linguistic minority. He has urged HC to direct the state to hold the “inquiry as per

NCPCR

report”. The PIL is listed for hearing on Monday.