The Delhi High Court on Thursday sought response from the Delhi Government upon a plea alleging that several government schools in the capital are either imparting only two hours of daily education or teaching on alternate days.
The Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad issued notice in the petition claiming that the teaching mechanism as alleged to have been followed by the schools in question has affected education of more than one lakh students.
The matter is slated for hearing on December 7, 2022.
The instant plea has been filed by Advocates Ashok Agarwal and Kumar Utkarsh on behalf of Social Jurist, a civil rights group, an organization of lawyers and social activists dedicated to the cause of common man and particularly to the rights of children relating to education and health.
The petition highlighted an alarming situation where marginalized students studying in government-run schools in Delhi’s North East district including SKV Khajuri, SBV Khajuri, GGSSS Sonia Vihar, GBSSS Sonia Vihar, GGSSS Khajuri, GBSSS Karawal Nagar and GGSSS Sabhapur are not getting full attention from Delhi Government in matter of their education.
“The inaction on the part of respondent Government violates fundamental right to education of students as guaranteed under Articles 14, 21 and 21-A of the Constitution of India read with provisions of Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009,” the plea read.
The plea pointed out that the petitioner organization had written letters to the Delhi Chief Minister and the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi requesting to take immediate remedial steps to safeguard education and future of lakhs of students studying in these schools but no response has been received so far.
Contending that it is the duty of the schools in question to impart education to students in terms of schedule norms and standards for school set out in the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, the plea sought a direction to provide full time education to students studying in Delhi Government run schools in North East district.
According to the provisions mandated under RTE Act, minimum number of working days must be 200 for classes I to V with 800 instructional per academic year, while minimum working days for classes VI to VIII must be 220 with 1000 instructional hours in an academic year.