GUWAHATI: After the Gauhati High Court asked the Assam Education Department to take strict action against schools if they continue to violate 12(1)(c) of the Right to Education Act, 2009, SHM Florence Academy, Samaguri, Nagaon has granted free admission to the children who have applied for the same.
The Gauhati High Court, on April 12, directed the Secretary of Elementary Education, Government of Assam, to ensure immediate admission of all 49 children who were denied admission in various private unaided schools and ordered the schools to appear before the Court on the next date of hearing which is May 8, 2023.
Out of the 49 children, eight students were given admission by the SHM Florence Academy, said Advocate Anita Verma, who is one of the advocates of the petitioner ‘We for Guwahati Foundation’, the organisation which moved the court to ensure that Section 12(1)(c) of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 is implemented in the state. Verma is also the managing trustee of We For Guwahati.
It needs to be mentioned that hearing a public interest litigation (PIL), the Gauhati High Court asked the Assam Education Department to take strict action against schools if they continue to violate 12(1)(c) of the Right to Education Act, 2009, up to the extent of revocation of recognition of such schools.
The division bench of Gauhati High Court consisting of Chief Justice Sandeep Mehta and Justice Parthivjyoti Saikia had observed that the petitioners (We for Guwahati Foundation and two others) are aggrieved by non-implementation of Section 12(1)(c) of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009. The court had observed that previously in pursuance of the orders passed by the Court in PIL No.66/2020 and PIL No.24/2023, the State Government has already issued requisite Notifications, mandating all the un-aided educational institutions to ensure strict compliance with the mandate of Section 12(1)(c) of the Act of 2009.
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