RTE students forced into physical labour: High court seeks affidavit from Chhattisgarh govt

RAIPUR: Taking suo motu cognisance of news reports on students enrolled under the Right to Education (RTE) Act being forced to undertake construction and painting work at a school in Chhattisgarh's Surajpur district, the high court on Monday directed the state school education secretary to file a personal affidavit in the matter.A division bench comprising Chief Justice Ramesh Sinha and Justice Ravindra Kumar Agrawal referred to reports published in TOI with a headline -- 'RTE students do construction work: Govt school under probe' - saying that a school principal compelled RTE students to perform physical labour, including carrying cement and sand and painting classrooms in Surajpur district.Bench orders probe, seeks affidavit by March 11Although a related public interest litigation and petitions were listed for Mar 11, the bench decided to take up the matter immediately in view of the gravity of the allegations.

According to the reports, the principal of Mukhya Mantri DAV Public School in Tilsiva allegedly threatened students with expulsion if they refused to work. When parents confronted the school administration, the principal reportedly dismissed their concerns, stating that since the children received free bags, books, and uniforms under the RTE quota, parents had no grounds for complaint.Appearing for the state, additional advocate general Shashank Thakur informed the court that a three-member committee had been constituted to investigate the incident and verify facts. The court directed the school education secretary to submit the personal affidavit by Mar 11.