State’s GR for unaided schools to comply with reservation upheld

Mumbai: The Bombay high court has upheld a government resolution that makes it mandatory for permanently unaided schools to comply with all reservation policies to get the benefit of grant-in-aid. The schools had challenged the decision on the grounds that they were expected to give 25 per cent reservation under RTE act free of cost to students from economically weaker section of the society, then the government should reimburse their fees.

A division bench of Justices B. R. Gavai and Riyaz Chagla was hearing a bunch of similar petition filed by unaided schools claiming that the clause introduced by the government in its 2011 resolution was unfair. The clause had said that the unaided schools that sought grant had to comply with all reservation policies to be eligible for getting grant.

Pointing to the problem, the counsel for the petitioners said that the clause wanted unaided schools to have a reservation in employment, which was invalidated by an order by the Supreme Court, which held that unaided schools cannot be imposed to have a reservation policy. Despite the order, the counsel said that the state was shirking away from its duty of reimbursing the fees of the students who were being provided free and compulsory education under the RTE Act.

However, counsel for the state referred to another judgement by the apex court, which challenged the order referred to by the petitioners as well as an order in favour of unaided schools by a bench of the Bombay HC. The apex court judgement said, “We make it clear that the respondent will be entitled to grant-in-aid from the date on which it fulfills the requirements of the GR dated November 15, 2011 to the satisfaction of the petitioner.”

After hearing the submissions by both sides, the bench held that in view of the above facts, unless unaided schools conform to the policy of reservation as laid down by the state, they would not be entitled to grant.