High Court defers seminar on RTE Act

Private institutions to deliberate on fee structure

The High Court of Karnataka on Tuesday rescheduled the seminar on implementation of Right to Education (RTE) Act.

The Court had earlier directed the State government to conduct a seminar on March 10 on enforcing Right to Education as a fundamental right.

The seminar will now be held on April 10. The order came during the hearing of an impleading application filed by Federation of Minorities Institutions.

The Federation has sought to implead itself as a respondent in the petition filed by Sarvodaya Education Trust and parents challenging the hike in fees and exclusion of CBSE schools from Right to Education Act.

The Federation of Minorities Institutions has stated that in the light of the judgement of the Supreme Court in TMA Pai Foundation Vs State of Karnataka and other related decisions, educational institutions run by its members were protected under Article 29 and 30 of the Constitution.

“Article 21A of the Constitution, amended in 2002, only stipulates that the state shall provide free and compulsory education to all children aged between six and 14 years in such manner as the state may, by law, determine, but it cannot be in contravention of Articles 19, 21, 26, 29 and 30 as held by the Supreme Court,” the application stated.

Interim order

The Federation has contended that the interim order passed by the court on February 12, 2013 will affect the rights of the unaided minority institutions in imparting education to religious and linguistic minorities.

Justice Hulavadi G Ramesh directed that all aided and unaided private institutions should deliberate on the fee structure and other aspects in terms of Article 21.

Commissioner appointed

The High Court has appointed the director general of Sports Authority of India as a court commissioner to inspect the Rani Chennamma stadium in Jayanagar 4th Block.

The Sports Promotion Association has approached the court with a public interest litigation alleging that the gymnastic section at the stadium was not of international standard and there was neither adequate space to house the necessary apparatus.

The Division Bench comprising acting Chief Justice K Sreedhar Rao and Justice Abdul Nazeer directed the court commissioner to report deficiencies with regard to infrastructure in the stadium.

The court also directed the commissioner to report the present condition of the stadium.