Allahabad HC bars CBSE, CISCE schools in Uttar Pradesh from evading RTE duties

The Allahabad High Court has delivered a judgment stating that schools in Uttar Pradesh affiliated to the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examination (CISCE) cannot claim exemption from the Right to Education (RTE) Act. The bench emphasized that the RTE Act applies uniformly to all schools, including private unaided institutions, and that the state cannot permit selective compliance. Consequently, the court directed the Uttar Pradesh education department to ensure that admissions for children aged six to fourteen in these schools are made in accordance with RTE provisions, warning that failure to do so may invite legal action. The ruling arrives amid ongoing debates across India on how private schools should implement the RTE mandate, and the court has allowed interested parties to file any further appeals within the prescribed time frame.