'RTE Act Does Not Erode Minority Character': Supreme Court Urges Reconsidering Exemption Enforced In 2014

The Supreme Court on Monday (1 September) called for bringing all minority institutions under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act 2009, the Indian Express reported.

Suggesting a re-evaluation of its 2014 constitution bench judgment that exempted them, the two-judge bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Manmohan said that the RTE Act “ought to apply to all minority institutions, whether aided or unaided”.

In the case of 'Pramati Educational and Cultural Trust vs Union of India' from 2014, a bench of five Supreme Court judges ruled that the RTE Act, as far as it applies to minority schools covered by Article 30(1) (which pertains to the rights of religious and linguistic minorities to set up and manage educational institutions of their preference), whether aided or unaided, is beyond the powers granted by the Constitution.

Reviewing the 2014 verdict involving a series of appeals concerning the Teacher Eligibility Test's (TET) relevance to minority educational institutions, the bench expressed significant doubts about the justification of the Pramati Educational and Cultural Trust's decision.

Asserting that the RTE implementation "does not erode—let alone annihilate—the minority character protected under Article 30(1)," the bench said, "There is no inherent conflict between Article 21A (right to education) and Article 30(1); both can and must co-exist mutually.”

It added that the RTE Act's mandate for 25 per cent reservation for children from disadvantaged groups and weaker sections at the entry level serves the broader purpose of social inclusion and universalisation of elementary education.

"While it is true that such a provision impacts institutional autonomy to some extent, the correct question, however, is whether it results in the annihilation of the minority character of such institution… this requires a fact-specific analysis, and not a blanket exemption,” the bench said.

“Section 12(1)(c) does not alter school demographics in a way that would compromise the minority identity of minority schools. Minority institutions undisputedly admit students from outside their community; doing so under a transparent, state-guided framework does not affect any right," it added.