The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has directed the Secretary to the School Education Department to investigate the possibility of extending the 7.5% horizontal reservation in professional courses for government school students to those in government-aided schools, especially where no government higher secondary school exists.
This decision came during a hearing of a public interest litigation by C. Pubesh from Ramanathapuram, who requested the establishment of a government higher secondary school for boys in the area.
The Chief Educational Officer of Ramanathapuram reported the presence of several aided schools but noted that the nearest higher secondary institutions were at least 9 km away. The petitioner argued that the reservation benefits were unavailable to students from aided schools, hindering access for poorer students. The court indicated that if the government limits the reservation to government school students, it should ensure that government higher secondary schools are available in all districts; otherwise, aided schools should also be included in the reservation scheme.
The Chief Educational Officer had previously stated that upgrading a middle school directly to a higher secondary school is not feasible without first upgrading it to a high school. The case is scheduled for further hearing on October 14.
