A Division Bench of the J&K High Court comprising Chief Justice N Paul Vasanthakumar and Justice Dhiraj Singh Thakur Wednesday restrained the State from closing any Government school, which are functioning as on date and if any school is to be closed for any valid reason(s), permission from this Court need to be obtained.
Taking cognizance of the news report regarding closure of Govt Girls High School, City Chowk for the purpose of creating parking space, Chief Justice suo-moto treated it as Public Interest litigation and listed it before the Bench on Wednesday.
Over 200 students along with their parents were protesting on the streets against the decision of the BJP-PDP alliance Government to dismantle their school building to make way for spacious parking lot in the heart of city centre near Shalimar road.
While justifying the shifting of school children Deputy Commissioner Jammu Simrandeep Singh had earlier stated that a comprehensive exercise had been conducted in J&K schools since the past one year to analyse the number of teachers and students. The school in question with 208 student strength and 33 teachers was also a part of this process.
“This exercise is called rationalisation of schools. We have merged those schools where the children are less in number. We also had a deficiency of staff in the outskirts. If we merge schools within a perimeter of 1 km, we’ll be able to bring all students in one school. Excess staff will be deployed in the outskirts. This school was also a part of the rationalisation process. After that, it is the Government’s decision. It is public property. If the building is lying idle after rationalisation, a genuine question arises of putting it to optimum use,” Simrandeep Singh had commented while interacting with the reporters.
While restraining State from closing the school, Division Bench observed that imparting education either by the State or by private person(s) cannot be for profiteering. Right to Education to children upto age of 14 years is guaranteed as a fundamental right under Article 21-A of the Constitution of India. The said right was recognised by Parliament based on various pronouncements made by the Supreme Court.
Division Bench further observed that in Jammu and Kashmir School Education Act, 2002, Section 4 also mandates the Government to provide free and compulsory education for children up to the level class eighth throughout the State within a period of 10 years from the date of commencement of the Act, that was from 17/05/2004 and the State was ordered to take appropriate steps to provide necessary
facilities.
Division Bench further observed “We are constrained to pass an order prohibiting the respondents from closing the school and further order to continue the said school in the same premises till further orders and it is also noticed that the State Government is contemplating to rationalise the schools numbering 3000 in the State on the guise of less number of students and more number of teachers working in the schools. Though, it is necessary to deploy the excess teachers to the needy schools, taking steps to close the schools on the ground of less number of admissions of students must be carefully considered.”
According to official sources in the state education department, for an approximate number of 334 students, 55 teachers have been deployed in two Govt Girls High schools in the city. As many as, 33 school teachers were posted in High school, City Chowk for 208 students while 22 teachers were posted in Dogra Hall High school for 134 students.
According to Director School Education Jammu, Babila Rakwal “Clubbing of Government Girls High School City Chowk and Government Girls High School Dogra Hall Jammu is a part of the same process.”
She said the clubbing of these two schools is in no way going to affect the studies of the students since the students will be taught by the same teachers and thereby maintaining the continuity.