HC seeks Centre, AAP govt stance on plea over free education

  New Delhi: The Delhi High Court asked the Centre, the AAP government and the three municipal corporations on Monday to respond to a plea seeking a policy guaranteeing free education, food and medical aid to children up to 14 years of age.

A bench of Chief Justice Rajendra Menon and Justice V K Rao issued notice to the ministries of Human Resource Development and Women and Child Development, the Delhi government and the three corporations in the city seeking their stand on the petition by July 31, the next date of hearing. 

The order came on a plea by Salek Chand Jain, who claims to be a social worker and has alleged that there is no scheme in place to provide free education, as mandated by the Constitution, to poor children up to 14 years of age in government or municipal schools in the national capital. 

He said in 2018 he had raised the issue before the court, which had in July 2018 directed the authorities to treat his petition as a representation and take steps within four months. 

However, despite the court's directions, the condition of the children in government and municipal schools has not improved, the petition has claimed. 

It has sought directions to the local authorities to carry out house-to-house survey to identify children between the ages of 6 years to 14 years who are not going to school and to ensure they get the education as mandated under the Constitution. 

Apart from that the petitioner has also sought directions to the authorities to provide infrastructure like proper sanitation, computer labs, electricity, furniture and other facilities in the government schools so that the children receive good education.