PIL demanding NCERT pattern for state board denied by Madras HC

The Madras High Court on Wednesday dismissed public interest litigation (PIL) request that the Tamil Nadu government be directed to implement the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) educational pattern in State Board institutions as well.

Chief Justice M N Bhandari and Justice D Bharatha Chakravarthy dismissed the request while dismissing a writ petition filed by J A Joseph, who claimed to be the founder-president of the J J Party, which had not yet been registered with the Election Commission of India.

Based on his representations, he requested that the State educational authorities direct all government and government-aided schools to adopt the NCERT syllabus from elementary to higher secondary in order to improve education and prepare students for all central and state government entrance, qualifying, and employment exams.

He claimed that the current Samacheer Kalvi system did not assist students in passing competitive exams like the Indian Institute of Technology-Joint Entrance Examination (IIT-JEE) and the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT).

The bench dismissed the plea in limine (at the admission stage itself), saying it was a policy choice for the Tamil Nadu government to make. The government, not the courts, was in charge of deciding what kind of school curriculum was appropriate. According to the court, the petitioner, who claimed to be the president of a yet-to-be-registered political party, had not mentioned any provision of legislation mandating that State governments use only the NCERT syllabus.