Allahabad HC dismisses petitions against UP government's plan to merge primary, upper primary schools
The single judge Bench, comprising Justice Pankaj Bhatia, thereby upheld the State government's decision for pairing of eligible schools with nearby educational facilities to make the education system more functional and viable.
Notably, the teachers' association and the opposition parties, including the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party, opposed the school merger plan of the State government, which remained firm on its decision.
According to an official, the decision was taken in the best interest of students. As per the official figures, there are 1.40 lakh government primary and upper primary schools in the State, of which 29,000 have 50 or fewer students.
Around 89,000 teachers are posted in these schools. The broader plan is to shift students from low-enrollment schools to nearby institutions with larger campuses and better facilities.
However, challenging the June 16 order of the State government, a total of 51 students from Sitapur district had approached the Allahabad High Court through their guardians.
The petitioners contended that the State government order was violative of Art 21A of the Constitution of India. The petitioners, represented by advocate LP Mishra and Gaurav Mehrotra, contended that the decision to mere the schools would undermine the interest of the children as they would have to travel longer distances to reach the school.
Meanwhile, the State justified the decision by submitting that the move would be in larger interest of the students and it would pave way for better utilisation of the resources.
The State government apprised the Bench that the objective of the education department was to make better use of resources, reduce dropout rate while ensuring quality education.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
3 hours ago
- Time of India
BJP's Vrindavan corridor is ‘astha ka vyapar': Akhilesh
1 2 Lucknow: Describing BJP govt's proposed corridor in Vrindavan as Astha Ka Vyapar (trade of faith), Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Monday said it is aimed at usurping land for a select few and taking donations from them in return. Akhilesh claimed the corridor will destroy the legacy Vridanvan's Kunj Galiyan (narrow bylanes) which find mention in bhajans, songs and folklores of Premlila of Radha and Krishna and added that BJP wants to destroy these structures of historical importance. The SP chief said acquisition of buildings in the name of widening of approach roads to Banke Bihari temple to do away with stampede-like situations was a sham. "Crowd control is essentially about management and has hardly much to do with the width of the road. If wide roads could do away with stampedes, then the Kumbh in Prayagraj had all the space and still why did the stampede occur," Akhilesh said. Akhilesh pointed out that roads leading to Shree Gundicha temple in Puri in Odisha are quite wide but still a stampede occurred there during the ongoing Rath Yatra. "It is not about the width of lanes and bylanes. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Own Co-live Units in Whitefield | Starting from 42L+ Sumadhura Learn More Undo It is about how the crowd movement is managed," he said. "Widening of roads and corridors is only a cover. BJP wants to acquire land at throw away prices, give it away to people close to it who will then sell it to commercial establishments for 10 times the purchase price. These are the people who then return the favour in the form of donations," the former CM said. Backs Gadkari on income disparity It's true that only 1% of India's population owns 60% of country's wealth and resources, said Akhilesh Yadav, adding that Union minister Nitin Gadkari had rightly made a statement to this effect recently. "He (Gadkari) knows how the govt is functioning, so he made this statement and rightly so," Akhilesh said. 'Atal e-way nixed as it benefitted Etawah' Akhilesh Yadav accused the BJP of having shelved the 404km-long Chambal Expressway, also known as the Atal Progressway, merely because it would have benefited Etawah — a stronghold of the Samajwadi Party. "The six-lane expressway was to connect UP with Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh starting from Atalji's village of Bateshwar near Etawah. Only because the highway would have benefited Etawah, the project has been shelved despite that all three states involved have BJP govs. This is the extent to which the BJP respects one of its tallest leaders," Akhilesh said.
Indian Express
4 hours ago
- Indian Express
Allahabad HC dismisses pleas challenging govt order on merger of primary schools
The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court on Monday dismissed petitions challenging a state government order that directed steps to be taken for the merger of government primary schools. The court had clubbed two petitions filed over the issue and reserved its order on Friday after completion of arguments. The petitions were filed against the government's June 16 order, issued by the Additional Chief Secretary, Basic Shiksha Department, directing merger of government schools under the supervision and control of the basic shiksha adhikaris (BSAs). The petitioners had also challenged a June 24 follow-up order, issuing a list of 105 schools for the purpose of merger. 'It is essential to add a word with regard to the National Education Policy, 2020, which includes various issues including the pairing of the schools. The policy in itself is laudible and prescriptions have been given with regard to the steps to be taken to ensure that education is imparted at the initial level to all the citizens and the children of the country. There being no material to the contrary in respect of guidelines of pairing in the policy of 2020, which can be said to be arbitrary or in violation of Article 21A of the Constitution and finding the impugned Government Orders to be in furtherance of the said objective, no interference is called for. Present petitions lack merit and are accordingly dismissed,' read the judgment passed by Justice Pankaj Bhatia. The bench added, 'The obligation cast upon the State shall be scrupulously followed and the State is bound to ensure that no child is left out because of any action taken by the State. It will be the duty of the Basic Shiksha Adhikari to ensure that no child is left out for being educated and all steps as are necessary shall be taken as and when required in accordance with law.' In the order, the court observed that it was important to notice that the Central government had issued the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, prescribing various measures in the interest of students and for improving the infrastructure of primary schools. Various government orders have been issued, forming committees for implementation of the guidelines issued in the NEP 2020, the bench said. The court noted, 'Although not cited or argued by either of the parties, Rule 4(3) has some seminal importance as the local authority has been saddled with a responsibility of identifying a neighbourhood school where the children can be admitted and such information is to be made public; the school as referred would be a school as defined under Section 2(n) of the RTE Act, thus, on a conjoint reading of Rule 4(1), Rule 4(2) and Rule 4(3), what transpires is that it is the duty of the State Government to establish schools as far as practical at a distance which is closest to the habitation, and if the same is not possible, to ensure that the children are provided facilities such as transportation etc., and for identification of a school which may be available in the neighbourhood in case the State Government cannot establish school, which would also include school other than the school established by the Government as is the mandate of Section 2(n) read with Section 12 of the RTE Act. Any other interpretation of Rule 4(1) would do violation to the statutory rule keeping in view the considerations of a large State such as the State of Uttar Pradesh with regard to availability of land and other resources and keeping in view the fiscal health of the State concerned.' It added, 'Thus, on a complete analysis of Rule 4(1), Rule 4(2) & Rule 4(3) read conjointly, it is clear that the State Government is bound to establish school on the nearest possible place from a habitation and in the absence thereof, it is obliged to ensure transportation facilities etc., and in conjunction thereof identifying the neighbourhood schools, whether they are government schools or otherwise.'
Time of India
6 hours ago
- Time of India
VK imposes guv rule in Chakma council for six months
Aizawl: Mizoram governor Gen VK Singh on Monday imposed governor's rule in the Chakma Autonomous District Council (CADC) for six months, exercising powers conferred under Sub-Para (2) of Para 16 and Para 20BB of the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution of India. The decision has been taken by Singh in response to the frequent changes in leadership resulting in political instability and persistent maladministration that have hampered effective governance in the CADC. A BJP leader said an inquiry commission is also likely to be constituted under Para 14 of the Sixth Schedule to investigate the functioning and administrative irregularities of the CADC. CADC BJP president Durjya Dhan Chakma told TOI over phone that BJP welcomes this bold and timely decision. "It is a much-needed step to restore transparency, accountability, and stable governance in the Chakma Autonomous District Council — paving the way for renewed development and the welfare of the people," he said. Political instability raised its head during mid-June when the BJP ruled CADC led by chief executive member Molin Kumar Chakma was voted out of power in a no trust vote on June 16 after 12 BJP members of district council (MDCs) in the 20-member CADC switched loyalty to the Zoram People's Movement (ZPM) ruling the state.
