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| Private schools can’t pick and choose textbooks: High Court | | FROM THE COURT | |
Early Times Report
Jammu, June 6: In a significant judgment having direct bearing on parents and school-going children across Jammu and Kashmir, the High Court of J&K and Ladakh has upheld the authority of the Jammu and Kashmir Board of School Education to prescribe textbooks for affiliated private schools, paving the way for a uniform textbook system and reducing the burden of unapproved private books on students. A Division Bench comprising Justice Sindhu Sharma and Justice Shahzad Azeem dismissed the Letters Patent Appeal filed by J&K Private Schools United Front and affirmed the judgment of the Single Judge, who had earlier upheld the JKBOSE directions mandating Board-published textbooks for Classes VI to VIII in private schools affiliated with the Board.
The case arose after JKBOSE issued notifications directing private schools across the Union Territory to adopt and teach only Board-published textbooks for Classes VI to VIII. Subsequent communications were also issued to ensure implementation of the Board curriculum and to check complaints that some private schools were allegedly compelling parents and students to purchase books from private publishers, either in substitution of, or in addition to, JKBOSE textbooks.
The appellant challenged the directions, contending that though the Board could prescribe syllabi and textbooks, it could not compel private schools to use only the books published by the Board. It was also argued that schools, parents and students would be deprived of the choice to adopt better-quality books.
Rejecting the plea, the Division Bench held that once an educational institution voluntarily seeks and obtains affiliation from the Board, it is bound by the terms and conditions of such affiliation, including compliance with the curriculum, syllabi and textbooks prescribed by JKBOSE.
The Court observed that the power to prescribe textbooks necessarily includes the authority to determine which books are to be used in affiliated schools. The Bench held that merely because the Board itself publishes such textbooks does not make the action arbitrary or beyond its powers, so long as the prescription is supported by law and guided by educational policy considerations.
In an important observation, the Court held that regulation of education, including prescription of curriculum and textbooks, is a valid and reasonable restriction aimed at maintaining academic standards and ensuring uniformity in educational content across the Union Territory.
The judgment is being seen as good news for parents and children, as it strengthens a uniform textbook policy and may help prevent the practice of schools forcing students to buy additional or unapproved books from private publishers. The ruling also brings clarity that affiliated private schools cannot run a parallel textbook regime contrary to the Board’s prescribed curriculum.
Appearing for the appellant, Advocate Shakeel Sarwar Wani with Advocate Imbisaat Liyaqat argued the matter, while Advocate M. I. Dar with Advocates Sana Imam and Laila Khan appeared for the respondents.
The Court further held that the JKBOSE notifications and circulars were general directions applicable uniformly to all affiliated institutions and could not be termed arbitrary or violative of Article 14 of the Constitution. It observed that matters of educational policy primarily fall within the domain of expert and regulatory bodies, and judicial interference is warranted only where such policy is manifestly arbitrary, unreasonable or contrary to statute.
Finding no infirmity in the judgment of the Single Judge, the Division Bench dismissed the appeal and upheld the JKBOSE textbook mandate. (JNF) |
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