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IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
VIKRAM NATH, J.B.PARDIWALA, JJ.
Suo Moto – Appellant
Versus
State of Gujarat, through The Principal Secretary & ors – Respondents
R/Writ Petition (PIL) No. 201 of 2020
Decided on : 08-01-2021
Education Matter - Indian Institute of Management – Lock-Down - Suo Motu Cognizance - Mid-Day Meal Distribution - Sudden Stoppage of Mid-Day-Meals in Government Schools - For purpose of preparing food, amount of cooking cost is being deposited in bank account of parents/students as per number of school days - For instance, if we take period total number of school days during such period were 21, total amount which would be deposited in the bank accounts of entitled beneficiaries would be the school days (21) multiplied by the per day requirement of food grains for the beneficiary student further multiplied by the cooking cost per student It is further submitted that distribution of food-grains is also being done after following all health-related COVID guidelines, by the School Monitoring Committee/School Teachers and Headmasters/ Cook-cum-Helpers of the Mid-Day Meal Scheme and through Government Fair Price Shops –
Finding of the Court:
This litigation initiated by this High Court suo motu in public interest, we would like to observe that by accepting the report of the State Government and closing this litigation, we do not want to convey that survey carried out by IIM-A and UNICEF, Gujarat, was not correct. On the contrary, we appreciate joint efforts put in by the IIM-A and UNICEF, Gujarat, in this regard and it is only on account of their survey and the article published in Indian Express newspaper that this Court came to know about the hardships and problems that few families had to face during period of lock-down. However, at the same time, the State Government also seems to have put in strenuous efforts to ease the hardships of various families during period of lock-down - In one of orders passed by this Bench in Writ Petition we have observed that, 'crisis does not build character, it reveals it - It is possible that help rendered by the Government might not have reached to few families - This is what the survey talks about - Government should pay due attention to such genuine cases and try to render assistance in all possible manner - Education is something which should never be compromised –
Result: Close this litigation.
ORDER :
(PER : HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE J.B.PARDIWALA)
1. This Court thought fit to take suo motu cognizance of an article dated 18th December 2020 published by the Indian Express News Service. The article referred to above reported as regards a survey conducted by the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A) and the UNICEF, Gujarat, with respect to the various problems and hardships faced by many households during the period of lock-down, more particularly, the hardship that was caused on account of the sudden stoppage of the mid-day-meals in the Government schools. The order passed by this Court dated 18th December 2020 reads thus:
“The Indian Express News Service, Ahmedabad, in its article dated December 18, 2020, has reported something very serious, which calls for the immediate attention of the State Government.
It has been reported that a survey conducted by the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A) and the UNICEF Gujarat revealed that among the households which had children enrolled in the Government schools, 85 per cent of the parents reported that they were not able to access anything in lieu of the mid-day meals since March, when the schools were closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The survey was conducted among 375 low-income parents residing in the urban Ahmedabad between July to September 2020, of which nearly 31 per cent had children attending the Government schools.
The study conducted by the KMIC-Knowledge Management and Innovations for Change, an IIMA and UNICEF initiative launched in 2015, to understand the accessibility to remote learning and challenges faced by the students and their parents, revealed that about 15 per cent of the parents received rice, wheat and/or pulses in lieu of the mid-day meals.
Further, around 30 per cent of the children had not engaged in any formal learning activities since March 2020. This was highest for those attending the private schools (33 per cent), followed by the Government schools (26 per cent), and those attending the private schools through the RTE mandate (22 per cent). The average income of the sample was around Rs.1,990=00 per month and more than 95 per cent of the households had monthly income less than Rs.4,400=00.
Despite the State Government's notices on temporary fee relief, around 54 per cent of the parents had been asked to pay the fees during the months of the lockdown. Over 40 per cent of the parents with children in the private schools were unaware of the fee relief. Among those asked to pay the fees, more than 50 per cent admitted that it was difficult for them to arrange the required amount and meet the payment deadline.
Another major concern revealed in the report was pertaining to the drop-outs. The inability to pay the fees has led some parents to consider an alternate option of transfers to other schools or even dropping their children out of the school for the year. This is something very serious.
Only 54 per cent of the families said that they have a functioning television with cable/DTH. Less than 2 per cent had access to a laptop and a Wi-Fi connection and email was used by less than 12 per cent of the families.
This Court is of the view that the attention of the State Government should be immediately drawn to the aforesaid, and in such circumstances, we deem fit to take suo motu cognizance of the above in public interest.
The registry is directed to register a writ petition by giving a 'pucca' number. Once the same is registered, the registry shall issue NOTICE to the following respondents, returnable on 5th January 2021 :
(1) State of Gujarat (Notice to be served through the Principal Secretary, Education Department).
(2) State of Gujarat (Notice to be served through the Commissioner, Mid-day Meal Schemes)”
2. In response to the aforesaid, the State Government has filed a detailed report. The report is in the form of an affidavit. We
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