KOCHI: The Kerala High Court on Monday held that the academic performance of a school student in any class could be of no significance as the statutory mandate under the Right to Education (RTE) Act stipulates that a student must be provided compulsory education from Class-II to Class-VIII.
The court also observed that the failure of a student in meeting the minimum educational standard in a particular class could only be viewed as an admission by the school of its failure to impart sufficient training to the student.
Justice A K Jayasankaran Nambiar made it clear that schools should not deliberately detain students in the same class citing poor performance, during the years between Class-II and Class-VIII. The court passed the order while allowing a petition filed by Kitty Sanil of Perumbavoor, challenging the stand taken by Vidyodaya School, Thevakkal, that her son would not be promoted to Class-VII in the forthcoming academic year, saying that the student’s academic performance in Class-VI was not satisfactory.
The court directed Vidyodaya School authorities to promote the petitioner’s son to the next class, and to do the needful to ensure that he pursues his elementary education in the school in 2015-16, and thereafter until he attains the age of 14.
The school authorities submitted that no student was entitled to automatic promotion without attaining academic standards.
The court observed that detention of a student in a particular class during the course of elementary education, on the ground that he/she failed to meet the academic standards prescribed by the affiliating board, would amount to ‘holding back’ the student.