It is for Officers to implement guidelines issued by State.

The Petitioner is a Private Aided School and it is a Middle School run in the name of Nehru Middle School in Kuttappattu village, Manikandam Union, Trichirappalli District. The short question that arises for consideration in this writ petition is that at the instance of a rival private school owner, the attempt of the State to broadbase its educational infra structure can be thwarted.

2. According to the Petitioner, they were in existence from the year 1966. The school was upgraded as a Middle School in the year 1978. They are running standards 1 to 8 with a total strength of 559 students. According to the Petitioner, Muthukulam village is having population of 1500. It is stated that there is a Primary School in the Manikandam Panchayat Union situated at I.P.Chatiram within a radius of 2 Kms from the Petitioner school.

3. The policy of the Government for the year 2004-2005 is that it had decided to upgrade 1009 Panchayat Primary Schools into that of Middle Schools and for the year 2002-2003 and 2004-2005, they also created posts of 1879 Junior Grade Teachers for the said purpose. The said policy of the Government was spelt out by G.O.Ms.No.113, School Education Department dated 20.08.2004. Pursuant to the said policy, the Director of Elementary Education issued proceedings dated 23.08.2004, recommending upgradation of schools which are qualified by the G.O. In the annexure to the said letter in respect of Trichirappalli District, 16 schools were qualified for upgradation from Primary Schools to that of Middle schools. For the Manikandam Panchayat Union, three primary schools were qualified to be upgraded to that of Middle Schools as per the conditions imposed by the Director of Elementary Education situated at I.P.Chathiram. The conditions imposed by the Director was that the village should have a minimum population of 500 and above for the upgradation of the school and for joining 6th standard, there should be minimum requirements of 25 students and also there should not be any Middle School/High School/Higher Secondary School within 3 Kms. radius. Apart from this, sufficient infrastructure for the school must exist.

4. The writ petitioner being aggrieved by the impugned order of the first respondent in upgrading the school at I.P.Chathram into Middle school, has filed the writ petition, primarily on the ground that I.P. Chathram is only within the radius of 2 kms from the Petitioners school and therefore, it is against the guidelines of the said G.O. and the school should not be upgraded by the respondents.

5. Even before the admission of the writ petition, an interim-stay was granted on 14.12.2004 in W.P.M.P. (MD) No.3500 of 2004. Subsequently, Notice of motion was also ordered on 13.06.2006.

6. Heard the arguments of Mr. V. Panneerselvam the learned counsel appearing for the Petitioner and Mr. R. Manoharan the learned Government Advocate appearing for the respondents and have perused the records.

7. The argument of the learned counsel for the Petitioner is that no school should come up within a radius of 3 kms, based upon the guidelines issued by the Director of School Education, is misconceived. The learned counsel argues that as the Government had prescribed the guidelines and the same should be followed. The necessity of the Petitioner to come before this court is to challenge the upgradation of the school since it is situated within the radius of 2 kms from the Petitioner school and due to the fear that the strength of the students held by them will come down once the Government school is upgraded as Middle school at I.P. Chathram.

8. In the present case, it is not as if the Petitioner has come forward to run the school under any compulsion. It is the Governments policy to provide compulsory free education to all the children from the age 6 to 14 years and it has been incorporated as a fundamental right in the constitution. Article 21-A of the Constitution of India reads as follows:-

"The state shall pr