Rajasthan High Court Closes Art-Teacher PIL, Accepts B.Ed.-Trained Teachers Imparting Kala Shiksha Under RTE Act

The petitioner sought directions to implement the RTE Act by teaching Kala Shiksha (art education) like other subjects, to stop grades and Secondary Examination marksheets being issued in the subject without teaching it, and to provide enough teachers for it (para 1). On 03.12.2024 an earlier Bench recorded that teaching Art (Drawing and Music) is statutorily mandated, called the use of teachers who are not Art graduates 'only a kind of arrangement', and asked the State for an action plan to create and fill Art Teacher posts. A contempt petition followed in 2024. The State then filed an application clarifying its position (para 3).

In its application, the State said that teachers up to Class V hold the BSTC qualification and those for Classes VI to VIII hold a B.Ed., in which Art Education is a compulsory subject suited to Kala Shiksha (para 3). It said that Art Education is only a co-curricular subject, graded but not counted in the final marksheet, so teachers specialised in it were not required (para 3). It added that Art Education is an umbrella subject covering fifteen forms, from wall painting and Rajasthani folk arts to music, drama, street plays and mask making, so specialists in drawing and music alone could not teach it (para 3). The Advocate General stated that the respondents had directed that art education for Classes I to X be imparted by teachers who studied Arts in their B.Ed. course (para 4). Having considered the application and that submission, the Bench was satisfied that the State had complied with the Act of 2009 (para 5). The order does not refer to the action plan sought in December 2024 (paras 3-5).