HC upholds JKBOSE’s power to prescribe textbooks for affiliated schools

Srinagar, Jun 24: The High Court has upheld Jammu and Kashmir Board of School Education’s (JKBOSE) power to prescribe textbooks for affiliated schools, even as it said the private institutions could not claim a right to use alternative books once they voluntarily obtain affiliation with the Board. A division bench of Justice Sindhu Sharma and Justice Shahzad Azeem dismissed an appeal by the J&K Private Schools United Front against the single judge’s decision that JKBOSE was well within its power to make it mandatory for the affiliated schools to use only those books that have been prescribed and published by it. Before the single bench, the trust had assailed the JKBOSE’s notifications asking the private schools to adopt board-published textbooks for classes VI to VIII. In response to the challenge to the notifications, the single judge in its judgement dated September 8, 2023, had held that the JKBOSE was vested with the powers to prescribe textbooks published by it and that all schools were required to follow the curriculum and textbooks prescribed by the board. Such a requirement, it said, is supported by the statutory framework under Section 29 of the Jammu and Kashmir School Education Act, 2002. While dealing with the appeal, which it dismissed finally, the division bench noted that the single bench while relying upon Section 2(I) and Section 10 of the Jammu and Kashmir Board of School Education Act, 1975, has rightly observed that the board has the power to prescribe the courses of instructions, prepare curricula and detailed syllabi and also prescribe text books for the pre-primary, elementary, secondary school and High Secondary (school graduation) and school examinations and Elementary Teachers Training Course. Furthermore, the single judge has rightly observed that the relevant resolution of the Board’s Affiliation Committee mandates that all affiliated schools must adhere to the textbooks and curricula approved by the board, the division bench said. The court observed that the board's decision to prescribe its own textbooks does not infringe any right of private schools and is backed by powers conferred under the J&K Board of School Education Act. It held that the authority to prescribe courses and syllabi necessarily includes the power to prescribe textbooks. With regard to the notifications, the bench said the objective behind the board's action was to promote academic merit, educational quality and uniformity in instruction. The court observed that the impugned notifications and circulars, therefore, could not be termed as arbitrary or violative of Article 14 of the constitution. “They are general directions issued to all affiliated institutions, uniformly applicable across J&K, and are clearly intended to maintain educational uniformity,” it said. The courts have repeatedly observed that matters of educational policy lie primarily within the domain of the expert and regulatory bodies, and judicial interference is warranted only where the policy is manifestly arbitrary, unreasonable, or contrary to statute, the bench said. While the court underscored that the State has the authority to frame curricula and prescribe textbooks as part of its regulatory role in education, it noted that the State can impose reasonable educational regulations and that such measures are aimed at ensuring social justice and quality education. The court said that the matters relating to educational policy primarily fall within the domain of expert bodies and regulatory authorities, warranting limited judicial interference. Finding no illegality in the impugned notifications or the single judge’s decision, the court concluded that institutions seeking affiliation with JKBOSE are bound by the terms and conditions of affiliation, including compliance with the curriculum, syllabus and textbooks prescribed by the board. “This court has clearly laid down that the State can carve down the syllabus and also prescribe the text books," it said.