Court concludes hearing on case over grade repetition
The case was filed in August 2024 by a parent of a student at Kangaroo Kids.
Civil Court on Thursday concluded hearings on a case filed by a parent alleging discrimination in the implementation of a grade repetition policy based on a circular issued by the Ministry of Education.
The case, filed in August 2024 by a parent of a student at Kangaroo Kids, challenges the ministry's directive following the government's decision to align the academic year with the Gregorian calendar.
The circular in question stipulated that certain students' grades be repeated due to changes in the admission and transfer policies. The parent’s case centres on several key points:
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The circular defines the age group criteria for new admissions and transfers implemented in the previous year.
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The principle that legal rules formulated later cannot retroactively apply to decisions made under earlier rules.
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The Child Rights Act, which mandates that special circumstances of children must be considered when their cases are submitted to government agencies.
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Evidence that, even after the circular, students in Kangaroo Kids and other schools, with Ministry approval, were transferred to the next grade without repeating grades.
The parent is seeking the court to:
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Declare that the Ministry of Education’s circular does not apply to the student in question, making the decision to repeat the grade invalid.
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Mandate that students in kindergarten grades be automatically promoted annually without repetition.
The Ministry of Education has maintained that no students have been transferred between grades outside of the COVID-19 pandemic exceptions. However, the parent has presented documents showing otherwise.
Court documents submitted by Kangaroo Kids revealed that:
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In 2024, 29 students were promoted from nursery to Junior Kindergarten (JKG) at Kangaroo Kids.
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The circular did not explicitly require schools to seek permission for grade transfers.
An email from the Ministry of Education to schools was also submitted as evidence. It clarified that children who had not met the age requirement by the previous year could repeat their grade upon the request of a parent, but schools were not allowed to insist on or enforce this policy.
The verdict in the case is expected within the next month.
