HC jolts babus, asks them to admit their children in govt schools

The Allahabad High Court’s order directing that all government servants and elected representatives should send their children to state-run primary schools has triggered panic in the bureaucracy though the political parties have welcomed the judgement.

Chief Secretary Alok Ranjan, who has been directed to implement the order by the court, said on Wednesday that he was yet to receive the copy of the judgement and hence was not in a position to comment on it.

Other senior bureaucrats also refrained from offering any comment on the order, which is to be implemented by the next academic session.

There were apprehensions that the order might be challenged in the Supreme Court.
Social activist Nutan Thakur on Wednesday filed a caveat before the apex court and the Allahabad High Court as regards the High Court order directing the UP government officials to send their children to government primary schools.

Calling the order historic, she said it was in the interest of the state and would also “help put a check on corruption as happens today when IAS, IPS officers and top politicians send their schools in foreign countries or big private schools”.

She requested the courts to listen to her side before passing any further order in any appeal passed against this order.

The politicians, however, welcomed the judgement and said it would go a long way in bringing about revolutionary changes in the state of affairs of primary education in the state.

“We have always been in favour of a uniform system of education. Every child has a right to quality education. The High Court order will result in improvement in the condition of primary schools in the state,” Samajwadi Party general secretary Ram Gopal Yadav said here.

State BJP president Luxmi Kant Bajpai and Congress leader Pradeep Mathur also hailed the order. BSP leader Swami Parasad Maurya said her party wanted the order to be implemented in letter and spirit.

The state of affairs of primary education in UP was very poor and the teachers of the primary schools did not have even elementary knowledge of the subjects they taught.

On many occasions, it was found that the children at the primary schools did not know the names of prime ministers, and the chief ministers of UP.

In a landmark judgement, the Allahabad High Court had on Tuesday directed that all government servants, elected representatives, members of judiciary and any other person, who received any benefit or salary from the public fund or state exchequer should send their children to government primary schools.