ORDER : (PER : HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE J.B.PARDIWALA) 1. This Court thought fit to take suo motu cognizance of an article dated 18th December 2020 published by the Indian Express News Service. The article referred to above reported as regards a survey conducted by the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A) and the UNICEF, Gujarat, with respect to the various problems and hardships faced by many households during the period of lock-down, more particularly, the hardship that was caused on account of the sudden stoppage of the mid-day-meals in the Government schools. The order passed by this Court dated 18th December 2020 reads thus: “The Indian Express News Service, Ahmedabad, in its article dated December 18, 2020, has reported something very serious, which calls for the immediate attention of the State Government. It has been reported that a survey conducted by the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A) and the UNICEF Gujarat revealed that among the households which had children enrolled in the Government schools, 85 per cent of the parents reported that they were not able to access anything in lieu of the mid-day meals since March, when the schools were closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The survey was conducted among 375 low-income parents residing in the urban Ahmedabad between July to September 2020, of which nearly 31 per cent had children attending the Government schools. The study conducted by the KMIC-Knowledge Management and Innovations for Change, an IIMA and UNICEF initiative launched in 2015, to understand the accessibility to remote learning and challenges faced by the students and their parents, revealed that about 15 per cent of the parents received rice, wheat and/or pulses in lieu of the mid-day meals. Further, around 30 per cent of the children had not engaged in any formal learning activities since March 2020. This was highest for those attending the private schools (33 per cent), followed by the Government schools (26 per cent), and those attending the private schools through the RTE mandate (22 per cent). The average income of the sample was around Rs.1,990=00 per month and more than 95 per cent of the households had monthly income less than Rs.4,400=00. Despite the State Government's notices on temporary fee relief, around 54 per cent of the parents had been asked to pay the fees during the months of the lockdown. The average income of the sample was around Rs.1,990=00 per month and more than 95 per cent of the households had monthly income less than Rs.4,400=00. Despite the State Government's notices on temporary fee relief, around 54 per cent of the parents had been asked to pay the fees during the months of the lockdown. Over 40 per cent of the parents with children in the private schools were unaware of the fee relief. Among those asked to pay the fees, more than 50 per cent admitted that it was difficult for them to arrange the required amount and meet the payment deadline. Another major concern revealed in the report was pertaining to the drop-outs. The inability to pay the fees has led some parents to consider an alternate option of transfers to other schools or even dropping their children out of the school for the year. This is something very serious. Only 54 per cent of the families said that they have a functioning television with cable/DTH. Less than 2 per cent had access to a laptop and a Wi-Fi connection and email was used by less than 12 per cent of the families. This Court is of the view that the attention of the State Government should be immediately drawn to the aforesaid, and in such circumstances, we deem fit to take suo motu cognizance of the above in public interest. The registry is directed to register a writ petition by giving a 'pucca' number. Once the same is registered, the registry shall issue NOTICE to the following respondents, returnable on 5th January 2021 : (1) State of Gujarat (Notice to be served through the Principal Secretary, Education Department). (2) State of Gujarat (Notice to be served through the Commissioner, Mid-day Meal Schemes)” 2. In response to the aforesaid, the State Government has filed a detailed report. The report is in the form of an affidavit. We have gone through the entire report. The gist of the report is as under : Mid-Day Meal Distribution : 2(1) The mid-day meal scheme is presently being implemented in a total of 32,822 Government primary schools in the State of Gujarat. At present a total number of 50,29,339 students of Standards 1 to 8 are registered for the Academic Year 2020-21. The gist of the report is as under : Mid-Day Meal Distribution : 2(1) The mid-day meal scheme is presently being implemented in a total of 32,822 Government primary schools in the State of Gujarat. At present a total number of 50,29,339 students of Standards 1 to 8 are registered for the Academic Year 2020-21. As per the provisions of the National Food Security Act, 2013, the Government of India has fixed the quantity of food-grains and cooking cost for Standards 1 to 5 and Standards 6 to 8 as follows : Standard Food grains fixed by the Government of India per student Cooking cost per student as determined by Government of India Std 1 to 5 100 grams Rs.4.97 Std 6 to 8 150 grams Rs.7.45 2(2) In order to ensure that the benefits of the mid-day meal scheme are provided to the entitled beneficiary students, in spite of closure of the schools, a decision was taken by the Government to provide the Food Security Allowance in lieu of the mid-day meals to all the entitled beneficiary students of Standards 1 to 8 vide the Government Resolution dated 23.03.2020 passed by the Education Department. Pursuant to such Government Resolution dated 23.03.2020, eight orders have been issued by the Government in a phased manner to provide the Food Security Allowance to all the entitled beneficiary students. These eight orders cover 187 school days from 16.03.2020 to 18.11.2020 (excluding the days of Diwali vacation) for the purpose of the Food Security Allowances in lieu of the mid-day meals. The details of the orders are as under : Sr. No. Duration of the Order Total School Days Total Grant Allocated (in Lakhs) Total allocated Food-grains (in Quintals) 1 16.3.2020 to 29.03.2020 11 3241.01 67370.56 2 30.3.2020 to 14.04.2020 10 2946.37 61245.96 3 15.04.2020 to 03.05.2020 15 4419.56 91868.94 4 04.05.2020 to 07.06.2020 34 10346.11 208236.28 5 08.06.2020 to 30.06.2020 20 5941.56 119585.39 6 01.07.2020 to 31.07.2020 27 7865.07 158300.46 7 01.08.2020 to 31.08.2020 21 6189.73 124580.3 8 01.09.2020 to 18.11.2020(except days of Diwali Vacation) 49 14469.41 291225.08 TOTAL 187 55,418.82 11,22,412.97 2(3) For the purpose of preparing the food, the amount of cooking cost is being deposited in the bank account of the parents/students as per the number of school days. For instance, if we take the period of 01.08.2020 to 31.08.2020, the total number of school days during such period were 21. Therefore, the total amount which would be deposited in the bank accounts of the entitled beneficiaries would be the school days (21) multiplied by the per day requirement of food grains for the beneficiary student (100 grams), further multiplied by the cooking cost per student (Rs.4.97). It is further submitted that the distribution of food-grains is also being done after following all the health-related COVID guidelines, by the School Monitoring Committee/School Teachers and Headmasters/ Cook-cum-Helpers of the Mid-Day Meal Scheme and through Government Fair Price Shops. 2(4) As on 31.12.2020, the distribution of the Food Security Allowance in the State of Gujarat for the children of Standards 1 to 8 is as under :- Sr.No. Time period of the order Total School days Covered No. of beneficiary children Total amount allotted (in Lakhs) Total amount deposited in the bank accounts of the students as on 31.12.2020 in the State Total Food grains (rice + wheat) allotted (in Quintals) Distribution of grains (rice + wheat) to the students registered with effect from 31.12.2020 (in Quintals) in the State 1 From 16.03.2020 to 29.03.2020 4992947 3241.01 3120.11 67370.56 64401.9 2 From 30.03.2020 to 14.04.2020 10 4971174 2946.37 2822.63 61245.96 58219.98 3 From 15.04.2020 to 03.05.2020 15 4962385 4419.56 4226.41 91868.94 87153.56 4 From 04.05.2020 to 07.06.2020 34 4956386 10346.11 9876.3 208236.28 196771.4 Total (70 school days of academic year 2019-20) 70 20953.05 20045.45 428721.74 406546.84 5 From 08.06.2020 to 30.06.2020 20 4828121 5941.56 5693.61 119585.39 109245 6. From 01.07.2020 to 31.07.2020 27 4780717 7865.07 7583.21 158300.46 145104.1 7. From 01.07.2020 to 31.07.2020 27 4780717 7865.07 7583.21 158300.46 145104.1 7. From 01.08.2020 to 31.08.2020 21 4643225 6189.73 5446.71 124580.3 107826.6 Total (68 days of academic year 2020-21) 68 19996.36 18723.53 402466.15 362175.70 Total (138 days) 138 40949.41 38768.98 831187.89 768722.54 8 From 01.09.2020 to 18.11.2020 (except days of Diwali Vacation) 49 2032450 14469.41 1608.04 291225.08 118174.6 Total (187 days) 187 55418.82 40377.02 1122412.97 886897.14 2(5) As on 31.12.2020, the distribution of the Food Security Allowance in Ahmedabad for the children of Standards 1 to 8 is as hereunder: Standards 1 to 5 Sr.No. Time period of the order Total School days Total registered children Children who have been paid with the cooking cost Total amount of cooking costs paid (in Lakhs) Children to whom food grains have been distributed Total grains distributed (in Quintals) 1 16.03.2020 to 29.03.2020 11 72511 71983 39.27 71910 791.01 2 30.03.2020 to 14.04.2020 10 72511 71983 35.70 71910 719.10 3 15.04.2020 to 03.05.2020 15 72511 71983 53.56 71910 1078.65 4 04.05.2020 to 07.06.2020 34 72511 71983 121.64 71655 2436.27 5 08.06.2020 to 30.06.2020 20 72898 72710 72.27 70911 1418.22 6 01.07.2020 to 31.07.2020 27 75124 74912 100.52 73077 1973.08 7 01.08.2020 to 31.08.2020 21 76160 75858 79.17 75555 1586.66 8 01.09.2020 to 18.11.2020 (except Diwali Vacation) 49 76229 74679 181.86 74177 3634.67 Standards 6 to 8 Sr.No. Time period of the order Total School days Total registered children Children who have been paid with the cooking cost Total amount of cooking costs paid (in Lakhs) Children to whom food grains have been distributed Total grains distributed (in Quintals) 1 16.03.2020 to 29.03.2020 11 43153 43112 33.01 43079 710.80 2 30.03.2020 to 14.04.2020 10 43153 43112 30.01 43079 646.19 3 15.04.2020 to 03.05.2020 15 43153 43112 45.01 43075 969.19 4 04.05.2020 to 07.06.2020 34 43153 43111 109.20 43071 2196.62 5 08.06.2020 to 30.06.2020 20 44119 43984 65.54 43559 1306.77 6 01.07.2020 to 31.07.2020 27 44550 44524 89.56 44061 1784.47 7 01.08.2020 to 31.08.2020 21 44883 44811 70.11 44714 1408.49 8 01.09.2020 to 18.11.2020 (except Diwali Vacation) 49 44953 44766 163.41 44628 3280.15 2(6) It is submitted that a daily reporting digital mechanism is in place by virtue of which, a daily report of the distribution of the food-grains all over the State is electronically submitted to the office of the Commissioner, Mid-Day Meals. In addition to this, a record is also being maintained at every level, i.e., at the Schools, Mamlatdar Office, Deputy Collector Office and Commissionerate. 2(7) It is submitted that in the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation, a total number of 1,21,182 students are registered in the Academic Year 2020-21. This number is significant in view of the fact that it offers a correct perspective of the survey conducted by the IIM-A and the UNICEF, Gujarat. It is most humbly submitted that any beneficiary student/parent who has not been able to avail the benefits of the mid-day meal scheme can easily approach the State authorities and the State shall ensure that such beneficiaries are provided with the necessary benefits. This equally applies to the 117 parents out of the 375 parents, whose children attend Government schools. Though the study does not disclose the details of such parents, it is submitted that if such parents are entitled beneficiaries, then they may approach the State authorities and all efforts will be made to ensure that the necessary benefits are granted to them. Efforts made by the State for the On-line Learning 2(8) For the betterment of the students whose studies may not get affected due to such closure of schools, more particularly, when the new Academic Year commenced from June, 2020, the Education Department, State of Gujarat passed a Government Resolution on 05.06.2020 for the Government, non-Government (grant-in-aid) and self-financed, primary, secondary and higher secondary schools of the entire State enumerating instructions for conducting Home Learning for the students from Standards 1 to 12. Various initiatives that have been evolved by the State Government for the purpose of on-line learning have been a result of the situation created by the pandemic. Such initiatives have been the only source of education for many children studying in the Government schools and all efforts are being made to ensure greater reach of such initiatives: Doordarshan Kendra D.D. Girnar Channel (regularly from June 2020), Gujarat Virtual School, Diksha Portal, You Tube channel, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan Website, Supplementary Literature (Exemplar), Virtual Classes, Study from Home, On Air Study. 2(9) A unique method of learning has been implemented by the State, whereby the PDF documents containing the live links of various lectures are circulated amongst the students and parents. 2(9) A unique method of learning has been implemented by the State, whereby the PDF documents containing the live links of various lectures are circulated amongst the students and parents. This is to ensure that the children can study at any time and also tackles the constraints of the technological limitations for the households who have limited digital devices. 2(10) It is submitted that as on 03.01.2021, the following number of students have respective infrastructural facilities through which they can access home learning: Sr.No. Facility Number of students who have access to the facility Percentage of the total number of students 1 Television 4635097 48.33% 2 DTH (Direct to Home) free dish and set top box to watch BISAG telecast 1795345 18.72% 3 Radio 168794 1.76% 4 Normal Mobile Phone 2356026 24.56% 5 Smart Mobile Phone/ Tablet 5684062 59.26% 6 Computer/Laptop 314329 3.28% 7 Unlimited Internet facility 424907 4.43% 8 Limited Internet facility 2804324 29.24% 9. No access to any facility 583574 6.08% 2(11) The following table is the summary of actions taken for teaching and learning of the students having facility and students having no facility : Sr. No. For students with Digital Devices viz. Smartphone, TV, Radio, PC/Laptop, Community PC/Laptop 1 Study from Home for Std.3 to 9 and Exemplar for Std.9 to 12 (March 2020) 2 Parivaar no Maalo – GCERT (April 2020) 3 Energised textbooks (June 2020) 4 Home Learning for Std.3 to 12 through telecast through DD Girnar, Vande Gujarat – BISAG (June 2020) 5 Virtual Classroom through MS teams for Std.3 to 12 (June 2020) 6 Live Virtual Classroom through MS teams, YouTube Live, Facebook Live, Jio TV for Std.9 to 12 (July 2020) 7 IVRS based – Missed Call do Kahani Suni – for Std.1 & 2 (August 2020) Sr. No. For students with no digital devices 1 Textbook distribution 2 Ghare Shikhiye Material – GCERT 3 PAT Answer Booklets 4 Teacher – Student Contact 2(12) The following is the statistical data for the learning activities of the RTE students in different districts : Sr.No. District Total Number of Schools granting admission under RTE Percentage of Students availing the benefit of online learning Percentage of Students who are not able to avail the benefit of online learning 1 AHMEDABAD RURAL 701 100.00% 0.00% 2 AMRELI 228 94.57% 5.43% 3 ANAND 217 96.45% 3.55% 4 ARAVALLI 111 94.28% 5.73% 5 BANASKANTHA 296 90.70% 9.30% 6 BHARUCH 251 98.01% 1.99% 7 BHAVNAGAR 162 94.96% 5.04% 8 BOTAX 92 82.54% 17.46% 9 CHHOTA UDAIPUR 60 90.29% 9.71% 10 DAHOD 124 97.48% 2.52% 11 DANG 15 100.00% 0.00% 12 DEVBHUMI DWARKA 158 91.38% 8.62% 13 GANDHINAGAR 284 96.44% 3.56% 14 GIR SOMNATH 279 96.67% 3.33% 15 JAMNAGAR 229 84.96% 15.04% 16 JUNAGADH 408 87.99% 12.01% 17 KHEDA 205 97.95% 2.05% 18 KUTCH 370 97.06% 2.94% 19 MAHESANA 224 96.51% 3.49% 20 MAHISAGAR 80 97.57% 2.43% 21 MORBI 189 96.49% 3.51% 22 NARMADA 45 97.44% 2.56% 23 NAVSARI 151 100.00% 0.00% 24 PANCHMAHAL 120 97.96% 2.04% 25 PATAN 107 84.00% 17.00% 26 PORBANDAR 119 91.36% 8.64% 27 RAJKOT 427 94.89% 5.11% 28 SABARKANTHA 197 88.51% 11.49% 29 SURAT 250 83.84% 16.16% 30 SURENDRANAGAR 221 96.52% 3.48% 31 TAPI 49 100.00% 0.00% 32 VADODARA 157 95.31% 4.69% 33 VALSAD 161 99.97% 0.03% 34 AHMEDABAD CORPORATION 854 94.02% 5.98% 35 BHAVNAGAR CORPORATION 124 99.68% 0.32% 36 JAMNAGAR CORPORATION 113 79.00% 21.00% 37 RAJKOT CORPORATION 484 83.25% 16.75% 38 GANDHINAGAR CORPORATION 46 100.00% 0.00% 39 SURAT CORPORATION 726 100.00% 0.00% 40 VADODARA CORPORATION 351 95.21% 4.79% OVERALL TOTAL & PERCENTAGE 9385 94.28% 5.72% Measures taken by the State towards reduction of the school fees (13) It is most humbly submitted that the findings of the report, as published in the newspaper article on 18.12.2020 in respect of the reduction of school fees, need to be viewed from the perspective of the events as they transpired between July 2020 to September 2020. 2(14) In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, to lessen the burden of the school fees on the parents, the State Government passed a resolution dated 16.07.2020, granting 100% fee relief for the students studying in all the self-financed schools. 2(15) The Writ Petition (PIL) Nos. 2(14) In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, to lessen the burden of the school fees on the parents, the State Government passed a resolution dated 16.07.2020, granting 100% fee relief for the students studying in all the self-financed schools. 2(15) The Writ Petition (PIL) Nos. 64 of 2020, 89 of 2020, 100 of 2020, 114 of 2020 and the Special Civil Application No. 8819 of 2020 were filed challenging the validity of the GR dated 16.07.2020. This Court, vide order dated 31.07.2020 was pleased to strike down Paragraphs 4.1, 4.3 and 4.4 of the said Government Resolution dated 16.07.2020 regarding fee relief and was further pleased to direct the Government to take a balanced decision keeping in mind the interest of all the stake holders. 2(16) The State Government arranged two meetings with the Self-Financed Schools Management Associations on 17.08.2020 and 20.08.2020 respectively. However, despite all the efforts, no agreement could be arrived at in respect of the reduction in the school fees, between the state authorities and the Self Finance Schools Management Associations. 2(18) Due to the failure to arrive at an understanding, the State Government preferred an application in the Special Civil Application No.8819 of 2020 on 24.08.2020, seeking directions from the court in this regard. This High Court, vide order dated 18.09.2020, was pleased to leave it open for the State to take an appropriate decision as it may deem fit. 2(19) After detailed discussions with the members of the Parents Association and the School Management Associations, the Government, after obtaining their consent, issued the resolution dated 07.10.2020, to provide 25% fee waiver to the students of all the self-financed schools in the State. 2(20) The Government is making all efforts to ensure that wide publicity is given to all the decisions taken by the State in respect of the fee relief. It is submitted that the information regarding the said Government Resolution dated 07.10.2020 has been published on the website of the Education Department. The said Government Resolution dated 07.10.2020 has been reported in the daily newspaper viz. Sandesh Newspaper, Divya Bhaskar, Gujarat Samachar, Times of India and Ahmedabad Mirror. 2(21) A Grievance Redressal Mechanism is already in place. The Parents/Students can lodge their complaints to the respective Zonal Fee Regulation Committees or respective District Education officer/District Primary Education Officer. The said Government Resolution dated 07.10.2020 has been reported in the daily newspaper viz. Sandesh Newspaper, Divya Bhaskar, Gujarat Samachar, Times of India and Ahmedabad Mirror. 2(21) A Grievance Redressal Mechanism is already in place. The Parents/Students can lodge their complaints to the respective Zonal Fee Regulation Committees or respective District Education officer/District Primary Education Officer. The details of the complaints which have been lodged before the Zonal Fee Regulation Committee are as under : Number of complaints against schools forcing to pay fees Number of complaints of schools which are demanding exorbitant fees Number of complaints against schools not complying with the resolution dated 07.10.2020 Total number of complaints Total number of complaints No. of complaints disposed of Total number of complaints No. of complaints disposed of Total number of complaints No. of complaints disposed of Total number of complaints No. of complaints disposed of 88 78 108 67 11 6 207 151 3. Considering the aforementioned facts and circumstances, it is most humbly submitted that the State is committed in its fight against the COVID-19 pandemic and is making all efforts to ensure that the persons belonging to weaker sections of the society are not marginalized and all efforts are being made to alleviate their sufferings. ANALYSIS : 4. Having duly considered the aforesaid report, we propose to close this litigation initiated by this High Court suo motu in public interest. However, we would like to observe that by accepting the report of the State Government and closing this litigation, we do not want to convey that the survey carried out by the IIM-A and the UNICEF, Gujarat, was not correct. On the contrary, we appreciate the joint efforts put in by the IIM-A and UNICEF, Gujarat, in this regard and it is only on account of their survey and the article published in the Indian Express newspaper that this Court came to know about the hardships and the problems that few families had to face during the period of lock-down. However, at the same time, the State Government also seems to have put in strenuous efforts to ease the hardships of various families during the period of lock-down. In one of the orders passed by this Bench in the Writ Petition (PIL) No.42 of 2020 (PIL relating to the COVID-19 pandemic) we have observed that, 'crisis does not build character, it reveals it'. 5. In one of the orders passed by this Bench in the Writ Petition (PIL) No.42 of 2020 (PIL relating to the COVID-19 pandemic) we have observed that, 'crisis does not build character, it reveals it'. 5. Before closing this litigation, we may remind the State Government to ensure of one thing that the inability to pay the fees should not compel the parents to stop providing education to their children. This is the worst that can happen to any family. It is possible that the help rendered by the Government might not have reached to few families. This is what the survey talks about. The Government should pay due attention to such genuine cases and try to render assistance in all possible manner. Education is something which should never be compromised. 6. With the above, we close this litigation.