SC stays HC order directing schools to give free gadgets to poor students

The Supreme Court on Wednesday stayed a Delhi high court order that had directed private and government schools to provide electronic gadgets to poor students for online classes and to get the cost of equipment reimbursed from the Delhi government, under the Right to Education Act. On Wednesday, issuing notice to the NGO Justice For All, on the two pleas, a three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice SA Bobde said, “In the meantime, there shall be a stay on the operation of the impugned order of the high court.” Senior advocate Vikas Singh, who appeared for the Delhi government, told the apex court that the government was already reeling under a fiscal stress created by the pandemic. The bench, also comprising justices AS Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian, said, “We realise that it will be an additional burden.” The high court order had said, “Elementary education is now a fundamental human right as well as an enabling right and, every child, irrespective of his/her financial status is guaranteed the right to free and compulsory education.” It went on to direct private unaided schools and government schools such as the Kendriya Vidyalayas to supply gadgets or equipment of optimum configuration as well as internet packages to EWS/DG students to enable them access online classes. Terming the divide created among students by the lack of digital equipment as “digital apartheid”, the high court even went on to advise the Central government to seriously consider investing in digital literacy and infrastructure and to increase its education budget from the current spend of 4.43% of the gross domestic product.