New private schools Act: High Court orders status quo

CHENNAI: The status quo should continue in the matter of implementation of the Tamil Nadu Private Schools (Regulation) Act of 2018 and Tamil Nadu Private Schools (Regulation) Rules, 2023, directed the Madras High Court on Friday.

The order came after the Congregation of the Roman Catholic Nuns of St Anne's of Tiruchy and a few other minority educational institutions filed multiple suits challenging the validity of 38 of the 60 sections in the Act and Rules as violative of their minority right under Article 30 of the Constitution.

The State government had brought in the new Act in 2018 regarding the establishment and administration of private schools to replace the 50-year-old Private Schools Act, 1973. It was implemented with effect from January 2023.

When these suits came up for hearing before the division bench comprising Justice SS Sundar and Justice PB Balaji, the counsels representing the institutions submitted that many sections which were repealed in 1975 have been brought in by the new Act and the Rules, and pointed out that the Supreme Court transferred the cases against the 1975 order to the High Court. Accepting the government's submission that a new law had been brought in, it was ordered in 2012 that status quo should continue.

“The sudden change by imposition of such stringent regulatory measures directly interferes with the right of administration of the management of minority institutions… It would be violative of the fundamental rights guaranteed to the minorities under Article 30 of the Constitution,” said the petitioners.

But Advocate General R Shunmugasundaram contended that new Act and Rules have been brought based on the High Court orders. Those rules are applicable not only to minority educational institutions but also to non-minority educational institutions.

Hearing the submissions, the court pointed out the previous order of the High Court and said the status quo should continue until June 15 in the implementation of the new Act and Rules. The case was then adjourned to June 5.