On7 August 2025, the Madras High Court expressed concern over the Tamil Nadu government’s failure to fulfill its obligations under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act. The Court questioned why the State was delaying reimbursements to private unaided schools that enroll underprivileged children, choosing to wait for funds from the central government instead of taking independent action.
A Division Bench comprising Justices G.R. Swaminathan and V. Lakshminarayanan remarked that the State’s hesitancy in meeting this financial responsibility could create the perception that it lacks commitment to ensuring education for economically disadvantaged children under the RTE Act.
Contempt Petition Against Education Officials
These observations came during the hearing of a contempt petition filed against School Education Secretary B. Chandra Mohan and Director of Private Schools P. Kuppusamy. The officials were accused of failing to comply with an earlier court directive issued on 10 June 2025, in a public interest litigation (PIL) matter.
During the hearing, Special Government Pleader U.M. Ravichandran informed the court that the Tamil Nadu government had filed an appeal before the Supreme Court on the same day, challenging the 10 June order. The Bench acknowledged this development and postponed the contempt hearing to 14 August 2025.
Background
The PIL in question had urged the State government to begin RTE admissions for the 2025–26 academic year without delay. Petitioners feared that the ongoing backlog in reimbursing fees to private schools for past academic years might negatively impact the admission process.
In its 10 June judgment, the court had observed that tensions between the State and Centre particularly over Tamil Nadu’s opposition to implementing the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 had resulted in delays in the release of central education funds. The State had already approached the Supreme Court, alleging that the Centre had withheld ₹2,151.59 crore under the Samagra Shiksha Scheme (SSS), including the RTE component.
Despite these issues, the High Court had instructed the Union government to consider separating RTE-related funding from the broader SSS allocations. Simultaneously, it directed the Tamil Nadu government to proceed with reimbursing private schools for RTE admissions, regardless of central fund disbursal.
“The responsibility to reimburse private unaided schools lies with the State government,” the court had stated. “Lack of central funds cannot be used as an excuse to avoid this statutory duty.” The current contempt petition alleges that this court order has not been followed.
(With inputs from The Hindu)
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