New Delhi :  

The Supreme Court’s judgment exempting minority schools, aided and unaided, from the Right to Education Act has been hailed by institutions promoting the education of minorities.

The National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions, the body that awards minority status to institutions, said the judgment would clear confusion.

Chairperson Justice M.S.A. Siddiqui told The Telegraph the court’s earlier judgment of April 12, 2012, had left room for confusion because it held that the law was binding on all except unaided minority schools. This suggested that aided minority schools were not exempt.

Siddiqui said Article 30(1) grants minorities the right to set up and run institutions. Accepting grants from the government would not take away that right, he said.

The provision of 25 per cent reservation for the poor and the power of government authorities to withdraw recognition infringe upon the rights guaranteed under Article 30(1). “As per RTE Act, the school management committee comprising mostly parents will decide the day-to-day functioning of the institution. This would restrict the choice of minorities in running the institutions,” said Ravi Sagar, an education activist.

source: http://www.telegraphindia.com / The Telegraph, Calcutta, India / Home> Front Page> Nation> Story / by Basant Kumar Mohanty / New Delhi – may 06th, 2014