Ethical and moral values of children should given importance instead of judging their academic excellence

Bombay High Court: Deciding the question of constitutional validity of Section 16 of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 (for short – 'The Right to Education Act'), prohibiting the holding back and expulsion of children, the division bench consisting of Hon'ble D.Y. Chandrachud and S.C. Gupte JJ., held that the said provision is not in violation to Article 21-A; it rather supplements its object and purpose. The Court opined that a child who is held back becomes vulnerable to psychological trauma that leads to loss of self confidence and identity, thereby, being placed in a disadvantageous position in comparison to his peers and hence, moves away from education. The Court also opined that at the stage of elementary education, emphasis should be more on the holistic development of the child wherein creativity is encouraged and ethical and moral values are given importance instead of judging the academic excellence by way of examinations. Moreover, not passing an examination is not an indicator of failure of the child but rather an indicator of inability of the teacher to address the needs of the child. Therefore, the Court also directed the State to take appropriate steps to ensure periodical evaluation of teachers and promote methods to upgrade their teaching skills. [Arun Digambar Joshi v. State of Maharashtra, Public Interest Litigation No. 105 of 2013, decided on July 11, 2013]

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