AHMEDABAD:

was furious with Morbi’s primary education authorities over a complaint that five children belonging to dalit community were expelled from a private school within a year after granting them admission under the Right to Education Act (

).

One Sarvopari Vidyalaya in Morbi gave school leaving certificates to five kids admitted last year under the 25% RTE admission quota after they completed their class I. The school used the distance clause in the RTE Act and expelled the kids on the ground that their homes were 11km from the school.

Justice

termed this as “extreme high-handedness and a mockery of the statute” and issued show cause notices to all concerned officials involved in the process. The HC has also suspended the school leaving certificates issued by the school management to these five kids, thereby staying the children’s ouster from the school.

Parents of all five children filed a petition in the high court through advocate Girish Das after local authorities did not pay heed to their grievance against the May 23 letter by taluka education officer approving the school’s decision to expel the kids, by certifying that their homes are 11 km away from the school. The parents submitted that just last year, the government authority had certified that the distance between the school and their homes is 6 km, which is the limit in which kids are to admitted under

.

The high court has asked all concerned officials and office bearers in the school to file separate affidavits in their personal capacities explaining why departmental proceedings should not be initiated against them.

The petition maintained that section 8 (c) of the RTE Act guarantees completion of elementary education for all kids, and no school can expel them before they complete Class 8. It was also contended that the authorities did not grant admission to these children in a school that is located within 2 km from their homes, but instead chose to admit them in a school that is 6 km away. The petitioners have insisted that there must not be any discrimination against them because they belong to certain caste and fall under the economic weaker section.

The HC has issued notices to all concerned authorities and the state government and kept further hearing on this petition on September 13.