J&K BOSE well within its power to make its books mandatory for affiliated schools: HC
Srinagar, Sep 09: The High Court of J&K and Ladakh has held that J&K Board of School Education (BOSE) is well within its power to make it mandatory for the affiliated schools to use only those books that have been prescribed and published by it.
“It is clear that once it is found that the Board of School Education is vested with statutory power to prescribe text books which include publication of these books, it would be well within its power to make it mandatory for the affiliated schools to use only those books that have been prescribed and published by the Board,” said a judgment, the court has delivered in a related case.
Dismissing a petition by J&K Private Schools United Front which claims to be working for the welfare of private educational schools and institutes, the Bench of Justice Sanjay Dhar said: “Neither the private schools nor other publishers have any right to compel the Board to prescribe text books published by these private publishers”.
“The prescription of text books published by the Board would not infringe the right of any publisher or owner of a private school as long as the respondent Board has power to do so which it does have in terms of Section 10 of the Jammu and Kashmir Board of School Education Act, 1975” the Court said.
In its plea, the Forum had challenged the notification “dated 26.08.2022 whereby all the private schools have been asked to ensure that in the first phase, the text books published by the BOSE are implemented/prescribed by all the private schools across J&K for classes 6th to 8th from the ensuing academic session.”
Besides other grounds, the Forum had challenged the notification and other communications issued subsequently on the ground that even though under Section 10 of the Act of 1975 the Board is vested with power to prescribe textbooks but the said provision does not make it mandatory for the schools to prescribe the text books prescribed by the Board for their students.
In its reply to the petition, the Board contended that prescription of curriculum, syllabi and development of textbooks from Class 1st to 12th is the domain of J&K Board of School Education.
“From the perusal of Section 10 of Jammu and Kashmir Board of School Education Act, 1975 it is clear that the respondent Board has the power to prescribe the courses of instructions, prepare curricula and detailed syllabi and also prescribe text books for the pre-primary, elementary, secondary school and High Secondary (School graduation) and school examinations and Elementary Teachers Training Course,” the Court said.
The Court held that in keeping with Section 2(l) of the Act of 1975 it is clear that the Board has the power to prescribe and publish textbooks because the definition of “text book includes its preparation/approval by the Board.” “Therefore, it can safely be stated that the power of the Board to prescribe textbooks would also include its power to publish these books”.
It is true that power of the Board to prescribe courses of instructions, prepare curricula, syllabi and to prescribe text books, the Court said, has to be subject to broad educational policies and directions on the subject by the Government but the power of the Board to prescribe books which would include publication of text books, cannot be diluted or taken away.
“The only requirement is that these prescribed text books have to be in consonance with the Education Policy in operation as also in conformity with the National Curriculum Framework,” it said, adding, “the broad educational policies and the instructions of the Government from time to time on the subject guide the Board in prescription of the textbooks”.
The Court underscored that it was submitted by the Board in its affidavit that it has a well-established curriculum development and research wing which is manned by permanent faculty of qualified academic staff. “It is these academicians who take care of selecting appropriate text books so that the same can be prescribed by the Board in exercise of its powers under Section 10 of the Act of 1975 for use by the students.” Prescription of text books by the Board, the court said, is a policy matter and it has been the consistent view of “the Supreme Court and various High Courts of the Country that in policy matters, particularly those relating to education, judicial restraint has to be adhered to.
“The Courts cannot interfere or substitute their opinion for that of the experts. In view of the analysis of the law on the subject, it is clear that the policy decisions and guidelines issued by the Board with regard to the matters relating to curriculum, syllabus and prescription of text books for the schools affiliated to the Board cannot be interfered with by the Courts, otherwise the whole exercise made by various stakeholders including educationists etc. would become futile,” the Court said.
“If the schools are at liberty to choose books, it would not only create chaos and confusion but there would not be uniformity in the education system throughout the Union Territory.”
The Court held that the Board while issuing the notification was right in observing that the practice of prescribing textbooks from different private publishers by different private schools results in non-uniformity in curriculum being taught and even instances of controversial content finding a way in some textbooks cannot be ruled out.
“Therefore, the decision of the Board in prescribing the textbooks published by it for use by the schools and students cannot be interfered with by this Court”. (Greater Kashmir)
