No wrong in girls and boys studying together in school: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court in the case of Jayasree v. Director of Public Instructions & others stated that there is nothing wrong when girls and boys study together in school.

The facts of the case stated that the petitioner applied for the admission of her daughter in Standard-I of the same school in which his son was studying and the respondent was the headmaster of the school. But the application for admission submitted by the petitioner was got rejected by the headmaster on the grounds that permission of Education Department is needed for giving the admission to girl child in primary section of the school. It was also stated that without the permission of the department the admission of girl child is not possible even in the mixed schools.

The court based on the interpretation of related provisions and K.E.R. (Kerala Education Rules) observed that- “all primary schools whether it is lower or upper shall be deemed to be mixed schools and admission thereto shall be open to boys and girls alike. No differentiation can be made between a boy and a girl as regards admission to the lower primary or the upper primary school since it is deemed to be a mixed school. A departure from this course is possible only if the Director of Public Instructions grants exemption in view of certain special circumstances.”

Further, Hon’ble Justice Chitambaresh stated that “A mixed school with a co-education helps the children to have healthy trends and isolation of them at this young age would only prove to be detrimental to their growth. It helps the children grow with better discipline and morality.” Therefore, the court quashed the order of headmaster for taking permission from educational authorities and states that it the fundamental right of every citizen to take education, and thereafter directs the school to give admission to the daughter of petitioner without doing discrimination on any grounds.

By – Simran Arora