In 2009, the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act (RTE Act) was passed to make elementary education free, inclusive and equitable for children aged 6 to 14. It required schools to meet minimum standards of infrastructure and teaching quality, banned corporal punishment, and most crucially, mandated a 25% quota for children from disadvantaged groups in private unaided schools.
But in 2014, a five-judge Constitution Bench exempted minority schools from these requirements. Now, more than a decade later, the Supreme Court is questioning whether that exemption undermined the goal of universal elementary education.
How the exemption came about
The RTE Act aimed to reshape classrooms by making them more diverse and accessible. Initially, only institutions imparting primarily religious instruction like madrasas and Vedic pathshalas were exempt.
Legal challenges quickly followed when RTE Act came into force on April 1, 2010. The Society for Unaided Private Schools of Rajasthan argued in the Supreme Court that the Act violated Article 19(1)(g) (on freedom of occupation) and Article 30(1) (on minority rights). Private schools and minority groups said the 25% quota infringed upon their autonomy.
In 2012, a three-judge bench upheld the RTE Act but exempted unaided minority schools from the 25% quota, reasoning that their autonomy under Article 30(1) would be compromised.
This position was expanded in 2014 in Pramati Educational and Cultural Trust vs Union of India, where a five-judge Constitution Bench ruled that both aided and unaided minority institutions would be exempt from the Act altogether. The Bench argued that applying RTE provisions would alter their composition and annihilate their minority character.
This sweeping exemption created a pathway for many institutions to seek minority status, sometimes in name alone, to avoid compliance. The effect was to fragment the common schooling system and weaken the RTE’s promise of shared, inclusive classrooms.
Why the court is questioning it now
In September 2025, a two-judge bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Manmohan reopened the debate while deciding if the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) applies to minority schools. The bench declared: “We have serious doubts as to whether Pramati Educational and Cultural Trust was justified in granting a blanket exemption to minority institutions… In our considered opinion, the RTE Act ought to apply to all minority institutions, whether aided or unaided”.
The judges noted that Article 21A, which guarantees free and compulsory education, and Article 30(1), which protects minority rights, must not be treated as opposing forces. “There is no inherent conflict between Article 21A and Article 30(1); both can and must co-exist mutually”.
They stressed that RTE standards, such as qualified teachers and adequate infrastructure, are “educational essentials, not ideological impositions” and that exempting minority institutions from them “is neither justified nor constitutionally required”.
On the 25% quota, the bench rejected the idea that it necessarily dilutes minority identity: “Section 12(1)(c) does not alter school demographics in a way that would compromise the minority identity… Compliance with Section 12(1)(c) need not come at the cost of eroding the minority character of the school”. It further suggested that schools could meet this requirement by admitting disadvantaged children from within their own community.
The judges also warned of the risks of continuing the exemption: “The decision in Pramati might have, unknowingly, jeopardized the very foundation of universal elementary education. Exemption of minority institutions from the RTE Act leads to fragmentation of the common schooling vision and weakening of inclusivity”.
Since a two-judge bench cannot overturn a five-judge precedent, the case has been referred to the Chief Justice of India for a larger bench.
What lies ahead
A larger Constitution Bench will now take up the issue. If the Pramati case ruling is overturned, minority schools, both aided and unaided, may once again be brought under the RTE framework. This would restore the 25% quota for disadvantaged children and reintroduce uniform standards on teacher qualifications and infrastructure.
The court has already clarified that TET remains a valid requirement for all teachers, including those in minority institutions. As the judges observed, “The right to education cannot be deprived of substance and rendered a right without fundamentals”.
The larger ruling, when it comes, will determine how India balances the collective rights of minority institutions with the fundamental right of every child to free, inclusive, and quality education.
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