CHENNAI: Holding that the one-km distance rule under the Right to Education (RTE) Act is only directory in nature and not mandatory, the Madras High Court has ordered a private school in Valparai in Coimbatore district to admit a tea estate worker’s child under RTE Act disadvantaged group category.
The child was denied a seat under RTE as the address given by his father was located more than a km away from the school.
The order was passed by Justice Anita Sumanth recently while disposing of a petition filed by the child’s father, Lakshmanan. “The position is clear to the effect that the distance rule is not mandatory but rather directory, particularly when the school has sufficient quota to accommodate children who reside beyond the stipulated distance as well,” the judge said.
The matter pertains to the rejection of the application by Beula Matric Higher Secondary School under the disadvantaged group category of the RTE Act for admission to Lakshmanan’s son Pranish. The father had cited Vellamalai Estate, where he was employed, as his address in the application submitted on May 6, 2022.
Saying that the place fell beyond the stipulated distance of one km from the school, the application was rejected. Subsequently, another application was submitted mentioning his residential address but the school did not consider it.
The school later admitted the child as a regular candidate and collected the full fee though it had vacancies under the RTE Act quota. Referring to rule 4 of the RTE Act dealing with distance, the judge observed that the rule makes it clear that the one-km distance criterion is “not inflexible”.
School told to refund fees within 2 weeks
“Though the focus is to accord priority to children residing within that distance, the idea is not to deny admission to children residing beyond that distance, particularly when the school has an available quota that is vacant,” the court said.
Justice Anita Sumanth ordered the school education department officials to ensure the petitioner’s son, Sai Pranish, gets an LKG seat under RTE ACT within three weeks and the school refunds the fee paid within two weeks.