Despite High Court order, City school refuses to admit students under RTE

In a clear violation of a recent High Court order asking six schools in the City to admit children under the 25 percent quota of the Right to Education (RTE) Act, one of the institutions, Christ School, Suddaguntepalya, has outrightly refused to obey the order.

In a letter written to the Block Education Officer (BEO), south range-3 on Tuesday, the school said it would challenge the High Court order passed on September 4 and “further proceeding in the matter would be taken in accordance with the decision of the Supreme Court.” The school was required to reserve 58 seats under the 25 percent quota. 

The six schools had claimed minority status and hence said they were not obliged to admit students under the 25 percent quota. Consequently, they had taken up the matter with the High Court where it was challenged by the parents of the children allotted the RTE seats. 

As many as ten parents whose children had been allotted seats in the school and who went to court over the matter, had gone to the school on Wednesday. However, they were not even allowed inside the school, according to K Chandrashekhar, one of the parents. “The school is not admitting any student.

 It has refused to admit students on the grounds that it will appeal in the Supreme Court. The school authorities claimed that the High Court order mentions the word ‘urgency’ but does not mention any date before which admissions have to be made,” said Chandrashekhar. 

No stay order granted

According to K Dhananjay, Supreme Court lawyer, an order passed by the High Court is binding so long as the school has not obtained a stay order from the Supreme Court. “A school cannot say that it will not comply with the High Court order because it is hopeful of a stay from the Supreme Court. It will be both reckless and contemptuous for the school to say so. It can always admit children by informing the parents that if it succeeds in the Supreme Court, the children will be relocated to a different school next year,” he said. 

M Munireddy, BEO, South Range-3, who was in the process of resending the list of 58 students to the school, said that a notice would be sent to the school and a report to the higher authorities on the matter. Several calls made to the school’s principal Fr Shaju Varghese P were not answered.