Classification based on marks is a violation of the Fundamental Right of elementary Education

Sabareesh Pillay | School of Law, University of Mumbai Thane Sub-Campus | 22nd September 2020

Neetu Kukar Vs Union Of India And Others

FACTS:

In this case, a case was filed in the High Court of Punjab and Haryana by Neetu Kukar- The petitioner against Dashmesh Public school in Faridkot. The concern of the petitioner was that the children of the school from 6^th standard were bifurcated in different sections on the basis of their performance and marks in the examinations, this was an issue which was raised by several parents as they were against this process. This bifurcation led to all the high-scorers being placed in one class and the others were put in different classes. This upset a lot of students and the petitioner’s daughter was very upset because she could not make it to the top performing section. She took the extreme step of consuming hand wash liquid as an attempt to end her life. The petitioner along with several other parents claimed that this discrimination led to mental trauma among students who couldn’t make it to the top section of their division and the parents were finding it hard to motivate them.

ISSUE:

Whether it is discriminative and violate of the child’s rights to bifurcate students of the class from 6^th standard on the basis of their performance and marks? And should action be taken against the school for practising this discrimination.

PETITIONER CONTENTION:

The petitioner contended that, it is violative of the provisions of Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 to differentiate and discriminate the students on the basis of their marks and that this process should be revoked immediately. Further, the petitioner said that this practice of bifurcating students into sections based on their marks and performance is a discriminatory practice and it is violative of Article 14 under the Constitution of India. It affects the mental health of the students and makes them think that they are not good enough when they fail to make it to the top performing sections.

RESPONDENT CONTENTION:

The respondent contended that, none of the claims made by the petitioner are true and the school has done nothing that is discriminative and violative of article 14 of the constitution of India and also does not break the provisions of right of children to free and compulsory education act,2009. Further, the respondent said that the petitioner has made wrong and false allegations against the school as her daughter could not make it to the top section and justified the reason behind bifurcating the sections that the top section has been constituted on the basis of performance and all other sections have students having different merit. A top Section has been created in the interest of the students so that the School can get better results.

JUDGEMENT:

The bench of Justice Sudhir Mittal gave the judgment that Classification of children into sections on the basis of their marks and performance has the tendency of creating a feeling of inferiority amongst children securing less marks and they might face mental trauma thus, the practice is a violation of the fundamental right of elementary education. Further, the court passed the order that this process of bifurcating students should be revoked and stopped immediately for the benefit of the students.