These Writ Petitions are filed by the Managers, Parent Teachers Associations, teaching and nonteaching staff and some of the students of unrecognized schools functioning in the State, challenging the Government Order, G.O.(Rt)No.2164/2008/General Education dated 15.2008 issued under Rule 3 of Chapter I of the Kerala Education Rules (hereinafter referred to as KER) relaxing certain conditions in Rule 8 of Chapter VI of the said Rules.

2. To comprehend the nature and scope of the contentions raised by the Writ Petitioners, it is apposite to extract Rules 7 and 8 of Chapter VI of the Kerala Education Rules, which read as under:

"Chapter VI Rule 7.

Admission of Private Study pupils:-

(1) A pupil who has not attended any school may be admitted as a private study pupil in accordance with rule 8.

(2) A pupil who has attended a school and left off and has been away from such school for at least one year may also be admitted as a private study pupil. But he will be permitted to sit for an examination as contemplated in Rule 8, only of a class one lower than the one which he would have been eligible to take had he continued on the rolls without interruption.

(3) No private study pup