A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court has observed that before the property of an aided school is alienated, permission shall be obtained from the State government or any officer authorised by it in this regard.
The Bench made the observation while allowing an appeal by some teachers of a lower primary school in Manjeri against a single judge’s order quashing the government order declining approval of a teacher nominated as manager by the person who purchased the school. The government had rejected approval on the ground that the owner of the property could only be made manager and a third party could not be appointed as the manager. The appellant contended that as owner N. Sidrathul Munthaha had not obtained any previous permission before obtaining title, the entire transaction is void under section 6(3) of the Kerala Education Act.
The Bench observed that before an aided school’s property is alienated, it is the mandate of the law that permission shall be obtained from the government or any officer authorised by the government in this regard, and such permission cannot be obtained merely by invoking Rule 5A of Chapter III of the Kerala Education Rules (KER), which is only a procedural rule enabling the recording of a change in ownership. The objective behind Section 6 of the Act is to ensure that the property belonging to an aided school is not alienated indiscriminately, jeopardizing the future of the students.
The Bench also directed the government to reconsider the matter afresh under Section 6 of the Act as well as under Rule 5A of Chapter III of the KER.
Published – May 18, 2025 06:06 pm IST
