Supreme Court: Kerala Must Set Up State-Run Primary Schools in All ‘No-School’ Areas

The Supreme Court, in a bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi, directed the Kerala Government to set up state-run lower and upper primary schools in all areas lacking such institutions under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009.

The appeal arose from Elambra in Manjeri municipality, where children had no primary school within a 3-4 km radius. 

The Court laid down a two-phase approach: identify all areas without a lower or upper primary school, and then establish lower primary schools within 1 km and upper primary schools within 3-4 km of those areas, ensuring prompt action even in difficult terrains.

[State of Kerala v. Muhammad Fasi]