The Supreme Court has issued a notice to the Punjab government following a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) alleging the non-implementation of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009. The PIL claims that this failure has led to the denial of free education to children from weaker sections and disadvantaged groups. The petition highlighted that private schools in Punjab have not adhered to the requirement of reserving 25 percent of seats for economically weaker sections and disadvantaged groups as mandated by the RTE Act.
The Chief Justice of India (CJI) and Justice V. Mohana heard the petition filed by K.S. Raju Legal Trust through Dr. Jagmohan Singh Raju. The petitioner argued that despite the government confirming admissions under the economically weaker sections (EWS) category in private schools, many schools have not admitted a single child under the scheme for almost 15 years. The CJI advised the petitioner to conduct a comprehensive study on the number of recognized private schools and admissions made under the RTE quota.
The petition emphasized that the RTE Act’s Sections 12(1)(c), 12(2), and 18 have not been effectively implemented in Punjab since 2009, rendering the constitutional guarantee of education illusory for children from weaker sections. It also mentioned the lack of compliance with directions issued by the Punjab and Haryana High Court, describing the state government’s approach as lackadaisical. The plea seeks intervention to ensure effective compliance with the RTE Act and the creation of a monitoring mechanism to enforce school admissions for eligible children.
