IMPORTANT POINT
The court established that changes to established educational practices, such as declaring Saturdays as working days, require proper authority, stakeholder consultation, and adherence to the provisions of the Right to Education Act, which takes precedence over state legislation in case of conflict.

JUDGMENT :

THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE ZIYAD RAHMAN A.A.

The issue involved in these cases pertains to the sustainability of the decision taken by the Director of General Education, in publishing the academic calendar for the schools governed by the Kerala Education Act and Rules, for the academic year 2024-2025, by making 25 Saturdays, during the academic year, as working days. In this batch of writ petitions, the challenge is against the said calendar and the competence of the Director of General Education, the 2nd respondent in WP(C)No.21811/2024 (hereinafter referred to as the 2nd respondent) as according to the petitioners, the decision of making Saturdays as working days for the schools, requires amendment in the Statute as it amounts to a change in policy or practice, and the competent authority to take a decision is the State Government, the 1st respondent in WP(C) No.21811/2024 (hereinafter referred to as the respondent). (For convenience, the Exhibits are mentioned hereinafter, as referred to in WP(C)No.21811/2024, which is treated as the leading case, unless otherwise specifically mentioned)

2. Before considering the rival contentions, the circumstances under which the Ext.P3 academic calendar was published have to be understood. Rule 3 of Chapter VII of the KER provides for the minimum number of working days, which reads as follows:

“3. Minimum number of working days-There shall ordinarily be a minimum of [220 instructional days excluding the days of examinations] in every school year. Under special circumstances, shortage in the number of working days may be condoned by the Educational Officer up to a maximum of 20 days and by the Director beyond 20 days.”

The manager and the Parent Teachers Association of an aided School approached this Court by filing W.P(C)No.25120/2023 seeking a direction to Educational Authorities to ensure 220 working days in the schools as according to the petitioners therein, the Right to Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act (hereinafter referred to as the Right to Education Act) and the Kerala Education Act & Rules provide for minimum of 220 working days in an year. The petitioners therein also submitted a representation in this regard before the 2nd respondent. The said writ petition was disposed of by this Court as per Ext. P2 judgment directing the 2nd respondent to take up the said representation and to pass orders in accordance with the law, with notice to petitioners therein and affected parties, if any, and after affording an opportunity to them, within an outer time limit of six weeks from the date of receipt of copy of the judgment, at any rate, before publication of the Academic Calendar for the next year (2024-2025).

3. In the implementation of Ext.P2 judgment, the 2nd respondent passed Ext. P6 order dated 25.04.2024 wherein it was stated that the Department has decided to make up the number of working days in tune with the Rules. Based on the Ext P6 order, Ext P3 Academic Calendar was published by the 2nd respondent on 3.06.2024, wherein the number of working days was fixed at 220 days by making 25 Saturdays as working days. The challenge in all these writ petitions is against the Ext. P6 order and the Ext. P3 Academic Calendar to the extent it makes the Saturdays as working days.

4. A detailed counter affidavit has been submitted by the 1st and 2nd respondents in WP(C)No.21811/2024, wherein the averments made in the writ petition were denied. It was contended that, as per the Calendar, all the Saturdays were not made as working days. According to them, only those Saturdays, which are sufficient to make up 220 total working days, which is the statutory requirement, were made as working days. The manner in which the Saturdays were selected as working days was explained in paragraph 4 of the counter affidavit, which reads as follows:

“4. Rule 3 of Chapter VII KER prescribes that there shall ordinarily be a minimum of 220 instructional days excluding the days of examinations is e