Minority schools having more non-minority students, cancel minority status: PIL in Bombay HC – Times of India

MUMBAI: State government must hold an inquiry and cancel the minority certificates of educational institutions that are evading the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009, a public interest litigation has urged Bombay high court.
It is filed by advocate Arvind Tiwari whose 13-year-old son was expelled from Ghatkopar’s P G Garodia School for “the activities of his father” who was the “successful petitioner” in a PIL to cancel 10 & 12 ICSE board exams in July 2020. He also intervened in the petition by Association of Schools challenging the State’s fee reduction to parents due to Covid-19 lockdown in 2020-21.
Tiwari’s petition says he is placing facts of Garodia school “as a sample and a test case” to bring before the HC the manner in which the minority educational institutions have availed the minority certificate for the sole purpose of evading RTE that guarantees right to students till the age of 14 of elementary education. He has challenged his son’s expulsion in a petition which is pending.
Tiwari’s petition refers to the report of National Commission for Protection of Child Rights NCPCR), submitted to the Central government in March 2021, recommending RTE for minority schools. NCPCR’s survey across India of 23,487 minority schools concluded that nationally 62.5 % of students in minority schools are non-minorities and in many states it is more than 70% of non-minorities studying in minority schools. “In the instant case it is 84.5 %,” his petition states informing that that February 2016 report of education inspector (N ward) showed out of 1639 students at Garodia school, 284 belonged to Marwadi linguistic minority, which is a “measly 15.5 % of the total students.” “The conditions are similar till date with slight variations,” it adds.
Tiwari informs that though the School Education Department was aware of the serious lapse “it failed to take corrective action against this errant and fake minority educational institution.” His October 2021 complaint to the Minority Development Department was in vain.
Urging direction for the “inquiry as per NCPCR report against all educational institutions including the sample case”, Tiwari also seeks appointment of a high power committee to examine illegalities of minority educational institutions and to submit a report to HC and that the charity commissioner scrutinize their books of accounts to determine profiteering. The PIL is listed for hearing on Monday before a bench led by the chief justice.