"English As A Medium of Instruction Can't Be Thrusted Upon A Child Even By A Legislation Much Less By A Policy Decision": Rajasthan High Court

While allowing the plea filed by the petitioner, the single bench of Rajasthan High Court, Jodhpur held that the decision of the State seeking to convert the school in question from a Hindi medium to an English Medium school with immediate effect, is fortiori, violative of Article 19 and 14 of the Constitution. The present petition, filed by the School Development Management Committee of Shri Hari Singh Senior Secondary School, Pilwa Panchayat Samiti Dechu, Jodhpur, challenging the decisions of Sept 2021 taken by the state government which converted petitioners' Hindi Medium school to an English Medium School - Mahatma Gandhi Government School. 9 SCC 485, the court ruled that since Article 21A of the Constitution is tethered with the words "in such manner, as the State, may, by law determine", therefore, the State may by law provide the medium and manner to provide such free education, which in a given case can be Hindi, English or even regional dialect - the mother tongue of the child. The petitioner further submitted that if the State really wants to bring in more English medium schools or Mahatma Gandhi Schools, it is incumbent upon it to create infrastructure and provide for budget as had been done in the operational guidelines of 2014-15, in which a decision to establish Swami Vivekanand Government Model School was taken by the State Government, however by setting apart separate budget for the same.