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Success Stories - Cases won by the Forum

March 1996 S.S.C.E. papers were leaked in mass scale. Forum and 10 others filed a writ petition (W.P.) and re-examination was ordered by the court. Court ordered India Cultural League College, Vashi, Navi Mumbai to refund Rs. 29,45,000/- to students taken as donations against admissions. Chief Minister's permission to commence Rizvi Engineering College was stayed for two years till proper facilities were created. W.P. filed against 7 city colleges for malpractices in std.XI admissions. Ordered to give admissions on Merit and furnish merit lists of admitted students on demand. A further petition filed for this purpose by Forum is pending in the court which is also for abolishing Govt. and management quotas. Some institutions challenged University's Scheme of centralised admissions which petition is pending. Forum intervened in favour of Mumbai University. Govt. postponed four times the implementation of Pre-School Admission Act. The Forum has filed a writ for such admissions on neighbourhood, without donations & deposits and 50% seats to minority institutions all based on Supreme Court Judgements. On Forum's W.P. court made 75% attendance in schools and colleges compulsory and banned teachers from teaching in coaching classes. Order not fully honoured, hence filed one more petition. Forum filed defamation proceedings against two city news papers and two political leaders for wrongly maligning Forum and its President. Court Order in favour of Forum for making Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) compulsory in all schools of Maharashtra and gave PTA the right in the management of selected areas. Govt. and schools mostly ignored the order and Forum again had to go to the court. Forum located 140 illegal schools in Mumbai and Thane and the Government was ordered to survey such schools in the whole state and submit the report to the court before April 2000. Two city engineering colleges unauthorised permissions challenged. Three management colleges action of admitting 30 students as late as Jan. 2000 challenged.

Court Ruling makes PTAs compulsory!!

Congratulations Parents! We have succeeded in our writ petition on parents teachers association. Now we have a rightful share in the management of the school of your children. First time in the history, the high court order is as under... In the high court of judicature at Bombay ordinary criminal civil jurisdiction Writ Petition No. 2298 of 1998, Forum For Fairness In Education, Western suburbs, Mumbai and others. ..Petitioners State of Maharashtra and Ors. ..Respondents Petitioner in person - Ms. C.S. Phadke, for respondents No.1 & 2 Coram : Ashok Agarwal, Acg. C.J. and A.P. Shah, J. Dated : 1st February, 1999 P.C. Rule, By consent Rule is made returnable forthwith. By the petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India the petitioner seeks implementations of the Government Resolution dated 16th May, 1996 and 18th October 1997 issued by the State of Maharashtra for formation of Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) in recognised Primary and secondary schools in the State of Maharashtra. Only few facts need to be stated in order to appreciate the grievance made by the petitioner in the petition. The State Government issued G.R. No. SSN/2696/PRA No. 622/MASHI-2 dated 16th May, 1996 directing all the recognised schools in the state to form PTA to achieve the following : To create a common platform on which parents and teachers can meet regurlarly (atleast once a month). To discuss progress of students, out come of tests, exams etc. To present the compliants/problems pertaining to teachers, non-teaching staffs and students and to try to amicably resolve the problem. To consider ways and means of initiating and propagating various extra curricular activities. To try to muster parents co-operation in upgrading amenities, facilities and other means of educational and para-educational activities in schools. By a fresh G.R. bearing No. SSN/2696 (622/96) MASHI-2 dated 18th October, 1997 the State of Maharashtra gave further direction for formation of PTA in respect of Primary Schools also. The said GR states as follows : The PTA is mandatory for secondary as well as Primary Schools. The State Government had constituted a committee for evolving the structure and duties of the PTA. The committee recommendations are as under : Every parent shall be a member. Fee of Rs.5/- Rs.1/- respectively to be charged from urban and and rural parent respectively and no fee from very Poor parent. Executive Committee of PTA shall consist of the following : Head Master - Chairman One parent for each division - Member One backward class parent member and 50% women parent member. One teacher for every class. Any parent can become Committee member only once in 6 years. Duties of PTA Completion of courses on schedule, planning assistance to weak students, help organise extra curricular activities and approve them, fixing tuition fee, term fee and fee for co-curricular activities for non grant schools. To solve students-teacher problems and monitoring day to day administration. PTA to be formed within a month from opening of the school. PTA meeting to be held in school premises atleast 4 times a year. Director of Education should bring this order to the notice of all schools. Pursuant to the aforesaid Government Resolutions the Education Department has communicated to all the primary schools and secondary schools in the State of Maharashtra to form PTA in accordance with the provisions of the Government Resolutions. Now the grievance of the petitionaer is that very few schools, out of thousands, in the State of Maharashtra , have compiled with the directions to form PTA. It is also the grievance of the petitioner that the Education Department has been sleeping over its own directions and has failed to take action against defaulting schools resulting in continuation of the exploitation of parents and children through authoritarian rule of the school authorities. The petiotioner has therefore prayed for appropriate directions to the concerned authorities to take immediate steps for effective implementation of the Government Resolution dated 18 October, 1997. We have heard the petitioner who appeared in person, and Ms. Phadke, the learned AGP appearing for the Respondents. Ms. Phadke, the learned AGP has fairly conceded that many schools have not yet compiled with the directions for establishing PTA. She, however assured that the government will take strict action against defaulting schools including the stoppage of non salary grant incase the directions are not compiled with. She stated that the concerned Education Officers will be instructed to ensure effective implementation of the Government Resolutions. In view of the above, we proceed to pass the following directions : Every recognised primary school or secondary school in the State of Maharashtra, whether unaided or aided should form PTA within 30 days from the commencement of the academic year i.e. from 1999 to 2000. All primary schools and secondary schools in the state shall send list of Executive Committee of the PTA to the competent authority i.e. Educational officer / Educational Inspector with the name of the members of the PTA within 15 days after forming of the PTA. Education Officer / Education Inspector shall ensure that every PTA should be elected democratically, minutes of the meeting of the PTA should be served to the Educational Inspector / Education Officer. The Education Officer / Education Inspector shall inspect the PTA formed by the schools in his area and if there is irregularity he will take necessary action for redressal of the same by taking the matter to the higher authorities. The Education Officer / Education Inspector will send a quarterly report in respect of the PTA operation in his area to the concerned Deputy Director of Education. The Education Officer / Education Inspector will be at liberty to take appropriate action against defaulting schools including stoppage of non salary grant. The petition is disposed of with the above directors. The State Government is directed to communicate this order to all the primary and secondary schools in the State of Maharashtra. This order is applicable to all the schools and Junior Colleges, aided and unaided throughout Maharashtra.