New Delhi: Once again a legal debate has erupted regarding the quality and equality of primary education in the country. The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a petition seeking to bring madrassas, Sanskrit schools and religious educational institutions under the ambit of the 'Right to Education Act 2009' (RTE Act). The Supreme Court has decided to consider this important issue by accepting the PIL filed in this regard. A bench of Justice Dipankar Dutta and Justice Sheel Nagu took this step on a petition filed by Pyare Zia Khan, Chairman of the Minorities Commission of the Maharashtra Government.
Challenge given to sections of RTE Act
The petition said that these sections violate Article 14 (right to equality), Article 15 (prohibition of discrimination), Article 21 (right to life) and Article 21A (right to free and compulsory education) of the Constitution.
Currently, under Section 1(4), this law works under the minority rights provided in Articles 29 and 30, while Section 1(5) keeps madrassas, Vedic schools and institutions imparting religious education completely free from the direct control of this law.
logic of discrimination
The petition urges the court to direct that the mandatory Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) prescribed by the National Council of Teacher Education (NCTE) should be equally applicable to all types of schools. The petitioner argues that the current exemption is discriminating against children merely on the basis of the type of school they are studying in. Every child has the right to quality education. Fixing the minimum qualification for teachers does not affect the rights of minority institutions, rather it will improve transparency in the selection of qualified candidates and the standard of education. It was recommended to send this entire matter to the Chief Justice of the country (CJI) for reconsideration and to constitute a larger constitution bench.
Legal background and recommendation of the elder bench
This PIL has been filed in the background of the Supreme Court's decision in the Anjuman Ishaat-e-Taleem Trust case in September 2025. At that time, the bench of Justice Dipankar Dutta had raised questions on the decision of the 5-judge Constitution bench given in the Pramati Educational Trust case of 2014, in which minority schools were given complete exemption from RTE.
In 2025, the court had held that even if the logic of relaxation in the rule related to admission of 25 percent poor children can be understood, it is not justified to completely exclude religious or minority institutions from the protective rules related to the qualifications of teachers and standards of education. On this basis, it was recommended to send this entire matter to the Chief Justice of the country (CJI) for reconsideration and to constitute a larger constitution bench.