Delhi HC seeks govt reply on PIL challenging blanket ban on school teachers offering private tuitions

The matter was taken up before a bench comprising Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela.

Dhawan is challenging Section 28 of the Right to Education (RTE) Act, and Rules 113 and 123(1)(a)(viii) of the Delhi School Education Rules, 1973, which stipulate that no teacher of a school shall engage in private tuitions or similar activities.

Relying on RTI replies, Dhawan pointed out that “there is zero enforcement” of these provisions in practice.

In his plea, Dhawan argued that access to school teachers outside school hours — without any risk of conflicts of interest — would significantly improve students’ access to quality education.

Advocate Mehta urged the court to regulate private tuition rather than continue with a blanket ban, describing such a measure as “unreasonable”.

Dhawan’s plea further states that “a complete prohibition on school teachers engaging in any private teaching activities is entirely contrary to the educational and social development of any society”.

Further, the petition argues that the blanket ban curtails the right to quality education for children who “cannot afford to study in a private school but can access quality education if a teacher from a private school offers free or reasonably priced classes after school hours…”

Dhawan is seeking that the provisions restricting teachers from offering private tuitions be struck down as invalid and unconstitutional, and has requested that the Ministry of Education (MoE) and the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi be directed to frame guidelines to regulate private tuitions, if necessary.

Further, to buttress his argument, Dhawan has cited the Comprehensive Modular Survey (August 2025), published by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), and news reports indicating a steep rise in private tuitions taken by school students.

The court has listed the matter for further consideration on 12 November and has instructed the government to obtain instructions in relation to the plea.