The High Court of Karnataka has stayed the operation of a contentious circular from the State government that extended the Right to Education (RTE) quota benefits to Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe students pursuing classes 9 and 10.

Justice Ashok S. Kinagi passed the interim order on a petition filed by the Associated Managements of Primary and Secondary Schools in Karnataka (KAMS) and other private school associations.

The circular, issued by the Commissioner for Public Instruction on May 21, 2026, had directed all private schools across the State to allow SC/ST students who completed class 8 during the academic year 2025-26 to continue studying in classes 9 and 10 in the same school under Section 12(1)(c) of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009. It further mandated that any fees collected from such students be reimbursed and that the issuance of transfer certificates would not hinder readmission in the same school under RTE quota.

The petitioner associations, representing over 5,000 private unaided English-medium schools, have contended that the RTE Act, rooted in Article 21A of the Constitution, expressly limits the guarantee of free and compulsory education to children aged 6 to 14, covering only elementary education from class 1 to 8, not beyond.

The State government, by way of a mere administrative circular and without any provision in the law, cannot extend the benefit of the RTE Act to the students beyond class 8, it has been claimed in the petition.

The petitioners further alleged that the circular was issued at the instance of the Chief Minister’s Office and the Social Welfare Department without independent application of mind by the statutory authority. It has also been argued in the petition that extending the benefit of RTE Act only to SC/ST students excluding from the broader “disadvantaged group” category amounts to selective and arbitrary implementation of the law under Article 14 of the Constitution of India.

The petitioner had pleaded the Court for staying the operation of the circular citing the pressure from the government authorities to comply with the directives even though the classes for the academic year 2026-27 have already commenced with admission of eligible students for classes 9 and 10.