The Supreme Court has sought responses from the Centre and Punjab government on a plea alleging failure to implement key provisions of the Right to Education Act
June 15, 2026: The Supreme Court on Monday sought responses from the Centre and the Punjab government on a petition alleging non-implementation of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009, in the state. The plea claimed that key provisions of the law, including the mandatory reservation of at least 25% seats for children from weaker and disadvantaged sections in private schools, have not been effectively enforced for the past 15 years.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice V Mohana questioned the petitioner, who appeared in person, on whether specific schools violating the law had been identified. Referring to an affidavit filed by the Punjab government, the court noted that over 450 economically weaker section students had reportedly secured admission in private schools. However, the petitioner argued that the actual figure should be closer to 50,000, considering the annual intake of nearly two lakh students at the entry level.
The petition has sought directions to establish a transparent, time-bound and publicly accessible monitoring mechanism for enforcing Section 12 of the RTE Act. It also requested the creation of systems for publishing seat availability, admission schedules, application procedures, reimbursement frameworks and penalties for non-compliance. The court suggested that the petitioner conduct a district-level survey to gather data on private schools and their compliance with the law before the matter proceeds further.