The Supreme Court has issued a notice to the Centre and the Punjab government over a plea alleging non-implementation of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, in the state.
The plea has sought a direction to the Centre to ensure effective and continuous compliance with the provisions of the Act, including admitting at least 25 per cent children belonging to the weaker section and disadvantaged group in Class 1 in private schools.
The petitioner claimed that the provisions of the Act were not being implemented in Punjab for the past 15 years and referred to a 2012 verdict of the apex court which had upheld the validity of the RTE Act.
The bench suggested that the petitioner conduct a survey in at least one district to find out how many private schools were there and how many of them were not implementing the provisions of the Act.
The plea has also sought a direction to the Centre to establish and ensure a transparent, time-bound and verifiable mechanism for monitoring and securing compliance with Section 12 of the Act in Punjab on a continuing basis.
