In a significant judgment strengthening the Right to Education framework, the Allahabad High Court has ruled that private unaided schools are fully bound by the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009 — including the no-detention clause that prohibits holding back or expelling students at the elementary level.

The Lucknow bench, led by Justice Pankaj Bhatia, delivered the verdict while hearing a petition filed by two schoolboys, aged 11 and 14, who were denied promotion for the 2024–25 academic year by a private ICSE-affiliated school in Lucknow on grounds of poor performance and low attendance.

Students denied promotion approach court

Challenging the decision, the boys — through their father — argued that the school’s action violated Section 16 of the RTE Act, which bars detention or expulsion of children before completion of elementary education. They further contended that the move infringed their constitutional right to education under Article 21-A.

The school, however, maintained that the RTE Act did not apply in full to private unaided institutions, asserting that only the clause mandating 25 percent seat reservation for disadvantaged children under Section 12(1)(c) was binding. It also cited the students’ low attendance as justification for its decision.

Court reaffirms RTE’s full applicability

Rejecting the school’s arguments, Justice Bhatia ruled that the RTE Act’s provisions extend uniformly to all schools — government, aided, and unaided. He cited the Supreme Court’s 2012 verdict in Society for Unaided Private Schools of Rajasthan v. Union of India, which upheld the Act’s constitutional validity across institutions.

The judge further observed that no school or board regulations can override statutory rights guaranteed under an Act of Parliament. As the Uttar Pradesh government has not issued any notification under Section 16(3) to permit detention, the no-detention policy, he said, “remains in full force.”

Students to be readmitted and promoted

Finding the school’s decision in violation of Sections 16(2) and 16(4) of the Act, the High Court directed it to immediately readmit both students. The younger boy will be promoted to Class VI after a retest within two months, while the elder will continue in Class IX, with his academic record already submitted to the ICSE board.

The ruling reinforces that every school — public or private — is obligated to uphold the RTE’s promise of educational continuity, ensuring that no child is denied learning for reasons of performance or attendance.