HC rejects PIL to connect coaching centres with schools, colleges

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday rejected a public interest litigation to connect coaching centres with schools and colleges, terming it as “misconceived”.

A bench headed by Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma said a court cannot direct the government to frame a policy in this regard.

This court cannot direct the state government to frame a policy to connect coaching centres with schools and colleges and to partner with them. This court does not find reason to grant the relief prayed in PIL; rather it is a misconceived PIL. The PIL is accordingly dismissed, said the bench, also comprising Justice Sanjeev Narula. The court also observed “coaching is optional and it is not mandatory for each and every student to attend a coaching centre”. Delhi government standing counsel Santosh Kumar Tripathi said connecting coaching centres with schools and colleges, as prayed by the petitioner, would create a new exploitative regime. Opposing the petition which also sought publishing of data and statistics regarding current market scenario of coaching institutes and revenue generated by the government from these institutes, the government lawyer also said a court cannot compel the legislature to enact a law. In his petition, petitioner Girish Kumari Gupta, who said she has private tutoring experience of around 21 years, argued that coaching classes were functioning as a parallel education system without any regularisation, which ultimately harms the students’ development. By connecting coaching centres with schools and colleges, the government would also be able to regularise coaching centres as when they connect with schools, they have to register with the government and come under the definition of State under Article 12, the petition said. Connecting coaching centres with schools and colleges is essential as education which does not aim for the overall development of students is in reality no education at all. It is just mugging up facts which are of no use for the overall development of the students which is the ultimate aim of the education," the plea said. The petition also submitted that the current market revenue of the coaching centres in India was in crores of rupees and thus a huge source of revenue for the government. If the government makes a framework for connecting centres with schools and colleges then there will also be a surge in the government’s revenue, it added.