The Karnataka High Court Declines To Intervene In The State’s Policy That Establishes A Requirement Of ‘6 Years’ As The Eligibility Criterion for Class 1 Admissions
Title: ABC And State of Karnataka & Others
Case No: Writ Petition No 11173/2023
Date Of Order: 26-07-2023
CORAM : HON’BLE JUSTICE SACHIN SHANKAR MAGADUM
INTRODUCTION
The Karnataka High Court has supported the State government’s ruling that establishes the age of admission for first-grade students in Government schools, aided schools, and unaided schools starting from the academic year 2025-2026, at the age of six
FACTS OF THE CASE
The petitioner had requested admission to LKG for the academic year 2023-24. However, on May 27, 2023, the school communicated via email that the petitioner was not eligible for LKG admission because she hadn’t turned 4 years old by June 1, 2023. Therefore, they informed her that she would need to remain in the Nursery class.
The argument put forth was that the petitioner had been admitted to Nursery based on an earlier notification dated March 11, 2020, which stipulated a minimum admission age of 5 years and 5 months for class-I and 3 years and 5 months for LKG. It was further argued that the subsequent notification in question should not be applicable to the petitioner, and any changes to the minimum admission age limit for class-I should only be applied for future cases.
COURT’S OBSERVATION
The court examined a case where a school operated by the Central Government was following the guidelines set out by the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. The court rejected the petitioner’s argument that the guidelines should only be applied prospectively, stating that the NEP’s age criteria were based on global education standards and aimed to promote a flexible and holistic learning approach. The court emphasized that it cannot alter educational guidelines established by competent authorities. It affirmed that the NEP’s focus on holistic student development outweighs individual inconveniences such as repeating a class. While acknowledging the belated change in age criteria, the court held that this doesn’t warrant interference with the policy. The court highlighted that the Right to Education (RTE) Act of 2009 places Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan in a distinct category, requiring uniform criteria to be followed across all branches. Consequently, the court dismissed the petition.
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Written by- Shreya Sharma