KOCHI: A division bench of the Kerala High Court on Tuesday declined to stay a single judge’s order permitting a girls-only aided Muslim school in Erattupetta, Kottayam, to introduce co-education if the local body failed to grant approval within a stipulated time.
The single judge had questioned the need for approval from local self-government institutions under a 2022 government circular for introducing co-education in aided schools, as well as the role of such authorities in converting single-gender schools into co-educational institutions.
Challenging this, an appeal was filed by K A Muhammed Ashraf, manager of another aided school in the area. The appellant contended that the single judge had issued the order without hearing him.
While refusing to stay the single judge’s judgment, the division bench clarified that any action taken pursuant to the judgment would be subject to the final outcome of the appeal.