HYDERABAD: The Telangana High Court on Friday directed the state government to file a status report on various infrastructural provisions and appointment of teaching and non teaching staff etc., in all government-run schools across the state.
The court issued notices to the principal secretary, school education, panchayat raj and rural department, principal secretary, municipal administration and the commissioner and director of school education, directing them to respond to the notices by September 23.
A division bench headed by Chief Justice Ujjal Bhuyan and Justice S. Nanda was dealing with a PIL filed by B. Abhiram, a law student, by citing a newspaper article appeared in Deccan Chronicle on June 13, highlighting the pathetic conditions prevailing in government schools across the state.
Petitioner’s counsel T. Swetcha, citing the news report, threw light on the deplorable conditions prevailing in government-run schools in tribal areas of Komaram Bheem Asifabad and other districts, and brought to the notice of the court about an important aspect covered in this article, a school which was functioning in a hut in Janduguda hamlet in Tiryani mandal of Asifabad district for the past 10 years. The hut belonged to a woman, Jekam Pochubai, who donated it for running the school.
Reacting to it, the Chief Justice bench observed, “The Right to Education is a fundamental right of the children of this country and the children who attend these government schools are mostly from the downtrodden classes. This court would like to know the facilities provided in all schools.” The state was directed to file a status report on the facilities provided in these schools.
However, the state counsel submitted to the court that the same issue was dealt with by the Supreme Court. Reacting to it, the bench observed, “The Supreme Court already dealt with the same issue, which adjudicated and disposed the PIL long ago directing the states to provide all required facilities in government schools functioning in all the states,” and directed to submit a status report in this regard by September 23.
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