Madras HC quashes TN GO on minority institutions


Chennai: Madras High Court judge D Raja today quashed the Tamilnadu government order which stated that minority status would be granted to schools only when they allot 50 per cent of seats for students from minority communities.

The GO was issued by School Education Minister K A Sengottaiyan 8 April last year.
In all, 140 educational institutions, including Franciscan Missionaries of Mary Educational Institution, had moved the court against the order.

The order further stated that the educational institutions should submit a report containing the students’ admission details to the State Education Department every year in September.

During the hearing, the petitioners’ advocate argued that it was against the interests of the minority groups and the implementation of the order would not encourage starting new schools to admit students of minority communities.

Further, during the hearing, the bench stated that a case can be filed with the National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions against the institutions which do not admit eligible minority students.

In addition, the judge ruled that the State government cannot give minority status as per the rules of the National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions.