Cultural & Educational Rights (articles 29 & 30)

Certain cultural and educational rights are guaranteed under Articles 29 and 30. Article 29 reads as:

 

Article 29 {Protection of interests of minorities} 1. Any section of the citizens residing in the territory of India or any part thereof having a distinct language, script or culture of its own shall have the right to conserve the same. 2. No citizen shall be denied admission into any educational institution maintained by the State or receiving aid out of State funds on grounds only of religion, race, caste, language or any of them.

 

Article 29 stipulates that any group of citizens residing in any part of India who speak a distinct language, script, or culture has the right to preserve it. Furthermore, no citizen shall be denied admission to any State-run educational institution or receive State-funded aid solely on the basis of religion, race, caste, or language.

 

The first provision safeguards a group's right, while the second ensures a citizen's right as an individual, regardless of the community to which he belongs.

Religious minorities and linguistic minorities are both protected under Article 29. The Supreme Court, on the other hand, held that the scope of this article is not necessarily limited to minorities, as is commonly assumed. This is due to the use of the words'section of citizens' in the Article, which encompasses both minorities and majorities.

 

The Supreme Court also ruled that the right to preserve a language includes the right to lobby for its preservation. As a result, under the Representation of the People Act, 1951, political speeches or promises made for the preservation of a section of the citizens' language do not amount to corrupt practise.

 

Minorities have the right to establish and administer educational institutions under Article 30. It goes like this:

Article 30 {Right of minorities to establish and administer educational institutions} 1. All minorities, whether based on religion or language, shall have the right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice. 1A. In making any law providing for the compulsory acquisition of any property of an educational institution established and administered by a minority, referred to in clause (1), the State shall ensure that the amount fixed by or determined under such law for the acquisition of such property is such as would not restrict or abrogate the right guaranteed under that clause. 2. The State shall not, in granting aid to educational institutions, discriminate against any educational institution on the ground that it is under the management of a minority, whether based on religion or language.

Article 30 of the Constitution is a charter of educational rights. It guarantees linguistic and religious minorities the absolute right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice while also claiming grants-in-aid without discrimination based on religion or language. The fact that, unlike most of the rights listed in the chapter on Fundamental Rights, the Constitution makes no express restriction on the scope of enjoyment of this right shows that the framers intended for it to be unrestricted. This does not, however, preclude the State from imposing reasonable regulatory restrictions in order to maintain educational standards. In judicial rulings, this point has been made abundantly clear.

 

Minorities, whether religious or linguistic, have the following rights under Article 30:

(a) All minorities have the right to establish and administer their own educational institutions.

 

(b) The State's compensation amount for the compulsory acquisition of a minority educational institution's property does not limit or abrogate the right guaranteed to them. The 44th Amendment Act of 1978 added this provision to protect minorities' rights in this area. The Right to Property was removed from the list of Fundamental Rights by the Act (Article 31).

 

(c) The State shall not discriminate against any educational institution managed by a minority when granting aid.

 

As a result, the protection afforded by Article 30 is limited to religious and linguistic minorities and does not extend to any other group of citizens (as under Article 29). The term'minority', on the other hand, is not defined anywhere in the Constitution. A minority's right to impart education to its children in its own language is also protected under Article 30.

 

There are three types of minority educational institutions:

1) Institutions that seek state recognition and assistance;

 

2) Institutions that seek only state recognition rather than financial assistance; and

 

3) Institutions that do not seek state recognition or assistance.

 

In terms of syllabus prescription, academic standards, discipline, sanitation, and the employment of teaching staff, the first and second types of institutions are subject to the state's regulatory power.

 

The third type of institution is free to manage its affairs, but it is subject to general laws such as contract law, labour law, industrial law, tax law, economic regulations, and so on.

 

The Supreme Court summarised the general principles relating to the establishment and administration of minority educational institutions in the Secretary of Malankara Syrian Catholic College case (2007) as follows:

 

1. Minorities have the right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice, which includes the following:

 

• To appoint a governing body in which the institution's founders have faith and confidence to conduct and manage the institution's affairs;

 

• To appoint non-teaching staff as well as teaching staff (teachers/lecturers and headmasters/principals); and to take action if any of its employees fail to perform their duties;

 

• Admitting eligible students of their choice and establishing a reasonable fee structure;

 

• To put the institution's properties and assets to good use.

 

2. The right granted to minorities under Article 30 is only intended to ensure equality with the majority, not to put minorities in a better position than the majority. There is no racial discrimination against minorities. The general laws of the land, which apply to all, will apply equally to minority institutions in matters of national interest, national security, social welfare, public order, morality, health, sanitation, and taxation.

 

3. The right to establish and run educational institutions is not unqualified. It also excludes the right to mis-administer. Regulatory measures can be used to ensure educational character and standards, as well as academic excellence. There can be administrative checks as needed to ensure that the administration is efficient and sound in order to meet the institution's academic needs.

 

This category includes regulations governing the general welfare of students and teachers, as well as regulations establishing eligibility criteria and qualifications for appointment, as well as conditions of service of employees (both teaching and non-teaching), regulations preventing exploitation or oppression of employees, and regulations prescribing syllabus and curriculum of study. Such regulations do not infringe on the right guaranteed by Article 30. (1).

 

4. Unaided minority educational institutions will have the freedom to appoint teachers/lecturers using any rational procedure of selection, as long as the State's eligibility conditions/qualifications are met.

 

5. The nature and character of minority educational institutions are unaffected by government aid.

 

The State can impose conditions to ensure that the aid is used properly, without diluting or abridging the right under Article 30. (1).