Lucknow, Oct. 30 -- The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court has held that the entire Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 (RTE Act), including the restrictions on detaining or failing students till the completion of elementary education, applies to all private unaided schools as well. "The internal guidelines of attendance and the rules of the affiliating board must yield to the mandate of the Right to Education Act," the high court ruled. Justice Pankaj Bhatia passed the judgment recently while allowing a petition filed by two students, aged 11 years and 14 years, through their father. The boys, studying in Classes 5 and 9, respectively at a Lucknow-based ICSE-affiliated private school, were detained after the 2024-25 examinations for low attendance and poor academic performance. Calling the school's decision violative of both Section 16(2) and Section 16(4) of the Act, the court directed the institution to readmit both children. The younger student was allowed to take a re-examination within two months and continue in Class 6, while the elder was to be readmitted to Class 9, as his academic records were already uploaded with the ICSE board. The petitioners' counsel argued that their detention was illegal under Section 16 of the RTE Act, 2009, which provides that no child shall be held back or expelled until the completion of elementary education. The school's counsel, however, contended that the Right to Education Act did not fully apply to unaided private institutions and that the students' low attendance and performance warranted their detention. The school's counsel also argued that unrestricted promotion would compromise academic discipline and the school's reputation. The counsel for the school further argued that if the school is not allowed to fail/detain students, the teachers would also stop paying attention to the children, and in that case, even the teachers will not be able to be evaluated by the management appropriately. Rejecting these arguments, the court relied on the Supreme Court's 2012 decision in 'Society for Unaided Private Schools of Rajasthan v. Union of India', which upheld the validity of the Right to Education Act and extended its applicability to all schools defined under Section 2(n), including private unaided ones. "The distinction sought to be drawn between aided and unaided private schools in the matter of applicability of Section 16 merits rejection," the high court observed. The high court also noted that the Uttar Pradesh government had not issued any special notification under Section 16(3) allowing schools to hold back students, meaning the RTE's default rule that children must not be detained stood fully applicable....