Above: Karnataka High Court  

The Director of Public Instructions had de-recognised Malnadu Kannada High School of Karnataka on February 10, 2017 and grant of aid was stopped, because the school failed to maintain the minimum number of students on its rolls as required under Rule 4 of the Karnataka Educational Institutions (Recognition of Primary and Secondary Schools) Rules, 1999. The school had moved the Karnataka High Court in this regard.

On June 4 the high court quashed that order.

Clause (K) of Condition No. 4 requires that an educational institution (which gets aid from the government) has to maintain a minimum strength of 40 students in its lower primary and 100 students in its of upper primary, apart from 25 students in each standard in the high school section. This meant, as per law, that the institution was supposed to maintain 25 students in each of these standards,” the Director of Public Instructions vide its impugned order had said.

Subsequent to hearing arguments advanced by counsels of both the sides, Justice Vineet Kothari quashed the impugned order vide judgment dated June 4, 2018 and allowed the petition filed by Malnadu Kannada High School Dr B R Ambedkar Vidhya Samsthe and its six teachers.

The court observed: “The very purpose of Right to Education Act, 2009 is to direct the government, private and public schools to admit larger number of students to ensure achievement of the object of Article 21-A of the Constitution of India. In these circumstances, if the existing schools’ recognition is allowed to be withdrawn in these types of circumstances as indicated in the impugned order passed by the Director of Public Instructions department that would deny the very purpose of the education to those who deserve to get it. The impugned order is therefore liable to be quashed and the same is quashed accordingly.”

—India Legal Bureau