ASNA K.A Vs. DISTRICT EDUCATION OFFICER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Can the right of a child pursuing elementary education to get admitted in a class appropriate to his or her age be denied on the ground of nonproduction of a Transfer Certificate? Will the provisions of the Kerala Education Rules which insists on the production of Transfer Certificate for admission to schools stand in the way of the implementation of the provisions of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 ("Act 35 of 2009" for short). These are the questions posed for consideration in this writ petition.

(2.) The petitioners are aged around 12 years. While they were pursuing their V Standard education in the ALP School, Kottassery, COVID-19 Pandemic struck the nation and all activities came to a standstill. The schools were closed down and like other students all over the Country, the petitioners were also forced to sit indoors and pursue their education. Fortunately for them, they were able to learn most of the VI standard subjects by watching the VICTERS (Versatile ICT Enabled Resource for Students), an edutainment channel in the Malayalam language operated by Kerala Infrastructure and Technology for Education (KITE) under the Department of General and Higher Education (Kerala) and wholly owned by the Government of Kerala. Their parents also assisted them in their homeschooling endeavours.

(3.) Since the 3rd respondent school had classes only till V standard, they applied for a Transfer Certificate and armed with the same, the petitioners approached the 4th respondent, who is the Headmistress of the SJHS Puthokkode and requested that they be permitted to join the VII Standard class. The petitioners contend that without admitting them in the class, the 4th respondent forwarded the applications to the 1st respondent and sought clarifications. The grievance of the petitioners is that no action was taken by the 1st respondent. The petitioners rely on Exts.P2 to P18 birth certificates issued by the Registrar of Births and Deaths, Thrissur, to bring home the point that they have attained the requisite age to secure admission in the VII standard. It is in the above backdrop that the petitioners are before this Court seeking the following relief:-