Schools given an earful on Right-to-Education violations

Passionate courtroom-like scenes, instant orders on first day of public hearing

 Judgments were quick and orders immediate. The public hearing on grievances related to the ‘Right to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009 and the Right to Education Rules, Karnataka, 2012’ that began here on Friday was nothing short of a passionate courtroom scene that aroused emotions of the public, the officials and those at the helm.

The Chairman of NPS (National Public School), Dr K P Gopalkrishna, was made to look like a schoolboy when the jury rapped him and his management for not admitting a student under the 25 per cent quota of the RTE Act. The school had refused to admit Dheeraj Kumar to class one on grounds that he was underage (five years and two months old) while applying.

Ordering the school management to admit the boy to the pre-primary level, Chandrasekharaiah, the former judge of High Court and one of the three jury members, remarked, “There have been cases when children of lesser age have been admitted under the Act. When the school has vacancies, why can’t the boy be admitted? Keep social justice in mind.”

Kumari Chaitra N S had been studying at SG International School, Nandini Layout  for the past five years. This year, however, she was denied promotion to class 6 as she was “incapable” of coping with studies. Chaitra suffers from a form of mental disability and the school cited this “reason” to deny her progress. Her father, Srinivas Murthy, was literally reduced to tears when he recounted the ordeal.

The school claimed Chaitra had not written a single test in the five years she was at the institution. “She would scream in class and simply run out, scaring other students,” a school representative said.

Niranjan Aradhya V P, Fellow at the Centre for Child and Law and another jury member, admonished the school for attempting to wash its hands of taking care of a needy child. He also asked the parents to provide her better care. “The parents and the school should coordinate and see that the girl completes eight years of elementary education,” he said.

A similar case was of H J Adish Panag, a pre-primary student at Navodaya Kishore Kendra, Vidyaranyapura. A skin condition of his had led to many students and teachers threatening to quit the school unless he was removed, even though doctors certified that the boy was only suffering from “dry skin”.

“Fearing infection, his class teacher threatened to quit if he stayed. Parents of as many as 40-70 parents also urged that the boy be removed,” said the school representative. The former judge of High Court, A J Sadashiva, however, had a simple solution. “Under no circumstances shall the boy be taken out of the school. Whoever wants to leave the school, let them leave. Issue them transfer certificates,” he ruled.

Parents of five children enrolled in class one under the 25 per cent quota last year at Prakriya Green Wisdom School, Chikkanahalli, were told their wards could not be promoted to class 2 this year. “If the school does not admit these children and comply with the rules, we will recommend it for derecognition,” Chandrasekharaiah said.

The lack of infrastructure in five schools at Gundlupet in Chamarajanagar district, the dearth of schools beyond class 3 at Maratakeri in Shimoga district, a case of corporal punishment at Rural High School at Haranahalli, Shimoga were some of the other cases heard on the occasion. In all, 15 cases were heard and 15 more will be heard on Thursday.

The Karnataka State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (KSCPCR) has received as many as 300 complains on various aspect of the RTE Act, according to its Chairman H R Umesh Aradhya. “The deliberations on these 30 cases will be applied to all the 300. We are planning to hold such public hearings in all districts,” he told Deccan Herald.