New Delhi, Nov 25 (UNI) The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the Kerala government to take urgent steps to establish government lower primary and upper primary schools in all regions where no such institutions exist, stressing that the Right to Education under the RTE Act, 2009, cannot be hindered by geographical, logistical, or financial constraints.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi upheld a Kerala High Court order requiring the State to set up a school in an area that lacked any educational facility within a 3–4 km radius.
Calling the High Court’s ruling “justified and valid,” the bench granted the state three months to comply.
The Supreme Court was hearing the state’s petition challenging the High Court’s 2020 direction to establish a lower primary school in a remote village in Malappuram district. Refusing to interfere, the bench issued a broader mandate to ensure that no region in Kerala remains without basic primary schooling.
“The State of Kerala must take a holistic decision to establish government primary schools in all areas where none are functioning under the 2009 Act,” the Court said. It further directed that in regions with difficult terrain, schools must be set up within the same locality to ensure uninterrupted access to education.
The Court outlined a two-phase implementation plan and directed that in Phase I, the state should identify all regions without any lower or upper primary school.
In Phase II, the state is required to set up schools in areas where no lower primary school exists within one kilometre, or no upper primary school exists within a three-kilometre radius.
Recognising fiscal limitations, the bench allowed the temporary use of private buildings as makeshift schools but warned that such arrangements “cannot continue indefinitely.” It directed the State to make necessary budgetary provisions for constructing permanent infrastructure.
“We are conscious that the state government may not have funds for wholesome construction of required schools,” the bench observed. It instructed gram panchayats to provide all available land-site details to the government and permitted the appointment of retired teachers until regular appointments are completed.
The court also allowed the state to invite charitable institutions to establish schools in unserved areas, provided they maintain transparency in admissions, follow equality norms, ensure adequate infrastructure, comply with the RTE Act, and do not charge capitation fees.
However, the bench clarified that “no private individual shall be allowed to take benefit of these directions.”
The High Court’s 2020 judgment stemmed from a PIL seeking a Government Lower Primary School in Elambra, Manjeri Municipality.
The petitioners had pointed out that local residents had purchased one acre of land for the school and that the Municipality had offered a building.
Advocate CK Sasi represented the State of Kerala, while Advocate Zulfikar Ali PS appeared for the respondents.
