Tamil Nadu counsel admits Education Act amendment was a mistake

In an embarrassment to the Jayalalithaa Government, senior counsel PP Rao Wednesday stated in the Supreme Court that the controversial amendment to the State's School Education Act for scrapping the curriculum approved by the previous DMK regime was "unnecessary" and ill-advised.

Rao, appearing for the State, told the apex court the amendment was brought on the basis of wrong legal opinion which now put the Government in trouble.

"Yes, I agree sound, bold and independent legal opinion was not given that the amendment was not necessary."

"It is true by doing an unnecessary thing we have landed ourselves in unnecessary trouble," Rao told a three-judge bench hearing the validity of the amendment to the Tamil Nadu Uniform System of School Education Act, 2010.

Rao was responding to queries made by the bench of JM Panchal, Deepak Verma and BS Chauhan as to what was the need for the amendment when the Madras High Court had already given the State a year's time to implement the Act formulated by the erstwhile DMK Government.

However, the counsel at the end of the hearing told the bench that the views expressed by him were "personal" and claimed that the media was distorting his observation as being that of the State Government.

Senior counsel A Sundaram appearing for some of the schools submitted the power to carry out the amendments was the prerogative of the Legislature and courts cannot and should not interfere in the matters unless it violated the Constitution.

The arguments would continue tomorrow.

On July 21, the apex court refused to stay the Madras High Court order quashing the amendment and asked the state government to distribute over 9 crore text books, printed as per the course curriculum, approved by the previous government.

It allowed the government to distribute the books by August 2, instead of July 22 as fixed by the High Court.

The AIADMK Government brought in the amendment on the ground that books printed by the previous DMK Government lavished praised on the party leaders particularly its MP and 2G spectrum scam accused Kanimozhi.