The Supreme Court has cracked open an old legal chest—asking whether minority schools can really claim a blanket escape from the Right to Education Act.
A two-judge bench, while hearing a clutch of appeals, said it was unconvinced by the 2014 Pramati Educational & Cultural Trust ruling, which had shielded minority-run schools—both aided and unaided—from RTE obligations. “We see no reason why the Act should not extend to minority institutions. Article 30(1) was never meant to be an immunity card against fair regulation,” the bench remarked.
Instead of overturning Pramati directly, the judges have sent the matter upstairs. The Chief Justice of India will now decide whether a larger bench should revisit the ruling.
The bench flagged four key questions for consideration:
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Does Pramati need a second look?
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If Section 12(1)(c) of the RTE Act—mandating 25% admission for children from weaker sections—clashes with minority rights, should it have been read down to apply only within that community rather than scrapped altogether?
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What happens to the missing consideration of Article 29(2) in the earlier ruling?
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Should the 2014 judgment have examined other provisions of the RTE Act before granting a sweeping exemption?
The Court hinted that Pramati may have thrown the baby out with the bathwater. By exempting minority schools entirely, it overlooked the balance between two constitutional promises: the right to education under Article 21A and minority protections under Article 30. The judges made it clear—these two rights can coexist without one wiping out the other.
Alongside this, the bench also addressed questions tied to teacher qualifications. Since 2011, passing the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) has been mandatory. The Court clarified that while new entrants must clear it, certain concessions would apply for long-serving teachers appointed before the rule took effect.
The debate is far from over. With the Chief Justice now holding the pen on whether a larger bench should re-examine the exemption, the RTE-minority school equation could be set for a major rewrite.
