Bilaspur: The Chhattisgarh High Court has ordered the commencement of LKG classes in Swami Atmanand Excellent English Medium Schools in Bemetara district. The Court has directed the state government to complete the necessary arrangements and initiate the admission process for LKG within four weeks. The matter was heard by a single bench presided over by Justice Amitendra Kishore Prasad.
Petition filed by parents from Bemetara
Residents of Saja village in Bemetara—Sudarshan Lodhi, Suraj Sahu, Govind Patel, Dakwar Banjare, Lalaram Soni, Chandra Prakash, Mukesh Soni, Atmaram Sahu, Bharat Sahu, Om Prakash Soni, Sunila Verma, and Dekoram—filed a petition in the High Court through their counsel.
The parents stated that they belong to economically weaker sections and average-income families. They wish to enroll their children in LKG at Swami Atmanand Schools to secure quality English-medium education, but the admission process for LKG had not been initiated in Bemetara district.
Lack of budget and staff cited as reasons
The petition alleged that while admissions for LKG are being conducted in Swami Atmanand Schools across other districts of the state, the admission process in Bemetara was not started by the District Education Officer and the school management, who cited a lack of budget and staff.
On these grounds, the parents sought the High Court’s intervention.
High Court states: Bemetara cannot be excluded from the scheme
During the hearing, the High Court observed that since the state government has formulated a policy to provide quality English-medium education across all districts, Bemetara district cannot be excluded from this initiative. The Court viewed the matter in the context of constitutional provisions regarding equality and the right to education.
Representing the state government, Deputy Advocate General Dr. Saurabh Kumar Pandey argued that the mandatory provisions of the Right to Education (RTE) Act do not apply at the LKG level. However, the Court did not accept this argument. The High Court deemed it unjust to deprive children of this educational facility on regional grounds and directed the government to complete the necessary arrangements and commence the LKG admission process within four weeks.
