The Delhi High Court on Thursday issued notice to the Government of the NCT Delhi after receiving a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) stating that students studying in some schools in the North East District area are following the pattern of teaching mechanism i.e, either imparting only two hours of daily education or teaching on alternate days thereby affecting the education of more than one lakh students.

The bench of Justice Satish Chander Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad on Thursday sought a response from the Government of NCT Delhi within three weeks.

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The Petition sought direction from the Government of NCT of Delhi to provide full-time education to students studying in SKV Khajuri, SBV Khajuri, GGSSS Sonia Vihar, GBSSS Sonia Vihar, GGSSS Khajuri, GBSSS Karawal Nagar and GGSSS Sabhapur and other schools at Tukbirpur, Karawal Nagar, etc., in terms of the provision of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009.

The plea has been moved by Social Jurist, a civil rights group that stated that it is the duty of schools of the respondent Government to impart education to students in terms of Schedule Norms and Standards for School of Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 i.e. the minimum number of working days as 200 and minimum 800 instructional hours for classes I to V and 220 working days and 1000 instructional hours for classes VI to VIII in an academic year.

Advocates Ashok Aggarwal and Kumar Utkarsh for the petitioner stated that the impugned actions/inactions are bad by law and would discourage students to continue their studies.

The plea further submitted that on average 5000-6000 students are enrolled in each of the schools thus nearly 1 lakh students enrolled in these schools are facing more or less the same situation. This is really an alarming situation where our marginalized students are not getting full attention from the Delhi Government in matters of their education.

Petitioner claimed that through letters dated September 5, 2022, and September 12, 2022, it has requested to Chief Minister and Lieutenant Governor of Delhi to take immediate remedial steps to safeguard the education and the future of lakhs of students studying in these schools but no response has been received so far.