Thaindian News

New Delhi, Oct 19 (IANS) The Delhi High Court Wednesday issued notice to the Delhi government on an NGO’s plea seeking framing of rules to provide free and compulsory education to children in the capital under the right to education law.

Directing Delhi government’s education secretary to appear before it, a division bench of Acting Chief Justice A.K. Sikri and Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw asked him clarify his stand on the issue.

Pulling up the government over its failure to frame rules since 2009, the bench sought a reply by Nov 9, the next date of hearing.

The court was hearing the petition of NGO Social Jurist filed through its counsel Ashok Agarwal.

The petition said that the government did not seem to be serious about making and notifying rules as required under Section 38 of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009.

This had resulted in continuous violation of the right to education of lakhs of children in the capital, it said.

Pleading that the government should be directed to issue the notification within a decided time period, petitioner’s counsel Agarwal said: “The government has failed to frame rules under the RTE law, which came into force in 2009, and as a result children are deprived of the benefits under the act.”

The RTE Act mandates that no child would be liable to pay any fee or expense which may prevent him from completing the elementary education, the petition said.

“Providing free and compulsory education to children is the statutory obligation on the part of the government…,” Agarwal said.

The petitioner said that the government had framed the draft rules as early as June 24, 2010, but till now these had not been notified.