Petition before Supreme Court against Madhya Pradesh State decision to conduct exams for classes 5 to 8 on board pattern

A petition has been filed before the Supreme Court challenging a 2022 circular of the Madhya Pradesh government directing private schools to conduct final examinations for class 5 to 8 students in the pattern of board examinations with State Council of Educational Research & Training (SCERT) syllabus [Ashaskiya Vidyalaya Pariwar v State of MP]..The petition highlighted that the Right to Education Act clearly states that no child shall be required to pass a board examination till the completion of elementary education. “The said circular not only defeats the objective of the provisions of the RTE Act but also misinterprets the amendment brought by the Respondent No.1,” the plea filed by a registered society said..In this regard, the plea highlighted the definition of "elementary education" under the Act which covers classes 1 to 8. .Petitions challenging the circular were earlier dismissed by the High Court’s single-judge and division bench. However, the High Court had directed the respondents to conduct examinations as per the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) syllabus. .The petition before the top court said that on account of a clear statutory provision under the Act, an executive instruction cannot be issued contrary to it. “Legislative functions cannot be delegated without following the test of legislative sanctions and legislative mandates cannot be introduced by way of administrative circulars or by sobordinate delegated legislations,” it was submitted..To buttress this submission, reliance was placed on the decision in the case of Ashok Lanka v Rishi Dixit in which the Supreme Court had held that there cannot be any doubt that subordinate legislation must be framed strictly in consonance with the legislative intent as reflected in the rule-making power. "The High Court ought to have considered that the circular/order was an executive instruction which could never be permitted to exist if the same de-hors the act. Accordingly, the entire order was liable to be quashed and not only the part with regard to the syllabus," the petitioners submitted..The petitioners also contended that the circular violates the intent of the Act and puts students in difficulty and mental disturbance which would directly affect their performance in upcoming examinations. Therefore, the petitioners also sought a stay on the operation of the High Court’s judgment as well as the circular itself..Advocates Shwetank Sailakwal and Areeb Uddin Ahmed are appearing for the petitioners.