A 14-year legal battle over the state of public education in Chandigarh has culminated in a high court order forcing the local administration to audit and defend its compliance with federal free-education laws, school by school. The Punjab and Haryana high court has directed the secretary of the school education department to file a comprehensive, school-wise affidavit ahead of a July 29 hearing. The document must explicitly state which government schools fail to meet the statutory infrastructure and staffing standards mandated by the Right to Education (RTE) Act of 2009, and the reasons for such failures.
Court Shifts Focus to Granular Accountability
The ruling, delivered by a division bench comprising Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Sanjiv Berry, shifts the court's attention from broad government assurances to granular accountability. The public interest litigation, originally filed in 2012, has spent more than a decade challenging the city's chronic teacher shortages, sub-par school infrastructure, and inactive oversight committees.
Staffing Deficits Exposed
Official disclosures submitted to the court revealed significant staffing deficits across the territory's public school system, with 565 teaching positions remaining entirely unfilled. While 772 appointment letters were issued over the past year, the department is still heavily reliant on stopgap measures, including a proposal to source 160 teachers on temporary deputation. Budgets and proposals have been sent to the central ministry of education seeking the urgent creation of 1,906 additional teaching and administrative posts to accommodate expansion under the National Education Policy.
Demand for Structural Compliance Proof
Beyond staffing, the high court is demanding proof of structural compliance. The administration must provide records detailing the active assembly and meeting frequencies of both individual School Management Committees and the State Advisory Council—statutory bodies designed to oversee school development that judges fear currently exist only on paper. The court's order underscores the need for transparent and verifiable data to ensure that every school in Chandigarh meets the legal standards for infrastructure and staffing, thereby upholding the right to free and compulsory education for all children.
