SC chides money-minded educational institutions

In a rare verdict that exposes the judicial overreach of high courts and mindless exercise of powers by certain authorities responsible for ensuring systematic education to students, the Supreme Court on Thursday said institutions must act with “propriety” as they are accountable to Parliament.

“Unfortunately, some of the institutions flagrantly violate the norms with adamantine audacity and seek indulgence” of court either in the name of mercy or sympathy for students or financial constraint, the Supreme Court said while scrapping a judgment of the Madhya Pradesh high court that accorded recognition to a private teachers training institute, Venus Public Education Society, and others ignoring the fact that they didn’t comply with the basic standards of education.

“None of these grounds justify deviation,” a bench of Justices KS Radhakrishnan and Dipak Misra said while allowing an appeal filed by the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) that in a delayed move challenged the HC order directing it to grant recognition to an unqualified institute.

The bench said this case “graphically depicts deviations but the HC putting the blame on the statutory authority has granted relief to the institution which is impermissible”.

The verdict, which can be an eye-opener for the subordinate courts and institutions of learning, says this case “demonstrably reflects the combat between the truth and falsehood, battle between justice and injustice… the collision between fairness and manipulation”.

The top court also referred to its earlier verdicts and warned that “without recognition from the NCTE and affiliation from the university or examining body, the educational institution cannot admit the  students”.

“The students who take admission are not young in age. They are graduates. They are expected to enquire whether the institution has recognition and affiliation,” the bench added.

The institution “exhibited characteristics of carelessness. It seems that they had forgotten that they are accountable to law. The students, while thinking ‘vision of hope’, chose to play possum’’, the SC said.