New Delhi: The Centre was asked on Wednesday by the
Delhi High Court to respond to a plea for amendment to the
Right to Education (RTE) Act to make it recognise home-based
studies and alternate schooling too as education, besides the
one acquired through formal schooling.
A division bench of Acting Chief Justice A K Sikri and
Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw asked the central government's
standing counsel Jatan Singh to file the response by April 18.
In a plea made through counsel Somnath Bharti, petitioner
Shreya Sahai said section 18 of RTE Act does not recognise any
other mode of imparting education except the one through
formal schooling.
"The benefits of all children aged 6-14 years and their
parents who feel threatened because their right to choose a
mode of education for primary education stands violated as the
Act restricts the same only to a formal school," she said.
All other modes of imparting education, except a formal
school, like home-schooling, alternate schools of education
and the schools not subscribing to the norms and curriculum
mandated in the Act stand declared illegal under section 18
and 19 of the Act, said the petition.
"Subscribers of the academics check tests conducted by the
government established National Institute of Open Schooling
(NIOS) feel threatened of the discontinuance of the same in
view of the impugned Act," the petitioner said.
Seeking the court to quash the RTE provisions as they are
violative of the fundamental rights of the children, the
petitioner said include homeschooling and alternate education
schools in the "specified category" and also allow NIOS
continue imparting education to children.
PTI
First Published: Wednesday, March 14, 2012, 22:32