Rajasthan High Court Initiates Suo Motu PIL For Gen Z, Gen Alpha & Gen Beta Welfare; Seeks Plan To Address Paper Leaks, AI Disruption
The Rajasthan High Court has taken suo motu cognizance concerning the welfare of Gen Z, Gen Alpha, and Gen Beta and directed the filing of a status report and action plans on actions taken by the State and Union Governments to frame a mechanism to address major challenges, including paper leaks, education-to-employment gap, mental health and digital burnout, AI disruption, etc.
The bench of Justice Anoop Kumar Dhand took note of the growing educational needs of the new generations.
Observing that the said generations would lead India in 2047, the bench empahsized that the current conditions of government schools are suffering from "systematic deficiencies". The bench noted that these schools, which are building the foundation of the most vulnerable sections of the children, lack medical facilities, basic infrastructure, training, and newly emerging technology.
The bench further highlighted,
"The entire world is rapidly progressing in today's technological era. In order to compete with international standards and with other developing and developed nations, it is imperative that our nation's educational institutions, particularly Universities, Schools and Colleges, adopt new techniques including Artificial Intelligence, Digital Learning, and allied technologies".
The bench then delved into the right to education, which obligates the State to provide facilities for education to all children irrespective of class or income. Thus, the court empahsized the need to balance the education of children in a holistic, scientific and progressive way while preserving our culture and intellectual heritage.
The bench articulated that these generations cannot be trained exclusively on the latest technologies, and therefore, there needs to be a balance with foundational skills. The court warned that a lack of foundational skills would lead to the extinction of many skills, including handwriting and manual writing skills, and reading physical books, and relying too much on AI technology to lose inependent through process, analytical ability and original writing skills.
Thus, the bench empahsized,
"Thus, while we must embrace AI and modern pedagogical tools to remain globally competitive, we cannot do so at the cost of abandoning the basic faculties of reading and writing".
Further clarifying that the children must be equipped to have independent thought and reasoning and that technology should be taught as a tool and not a substitute for human intellect, the bench directed the Schools, Colleges and Universities to integrate digital learning, AI and allied technologies into their educational policy.
Referring to the recent issue of paper leaks, the court also noted that Generation Z is facing this crisis, and it is adversely affecting their academic performance and future prospects. Therefore, in the directions, the court also asked the Governments to frame a foolproof mechanism to prevent paper leaks.
The court further referred to the growing issue of sedentary screen time, which has been addressed. The court noted that the increasing screen time is related to adverse effects on the mental and physical development of children.
Emphasizing that the right to health, nutrition, and safe food for children is an integral part of the right to life under Article 21, the court held that the State was duty-bound to uphold the same.
The bench referred to the FSSAI guidelines of 2020, which provide for safe food and a balanced diet for children, and noted that despite the passing of the regulations in 2020, no effective steps were taken by the Central or State Governments.
Thus, taking a serious note of the aforementioned conditions, the bench deemed it appropriate to register this matter as a Public Interest Litigation. The bench accordingly appointed Senior Advocates Ravi Bhansali, Sachin Acharya and Vikas Balia, on behalf of Generation Z. Advocates Pankaj Sharma, Priyanka Borana, Naman Mahnot and Avin Chhangani on behalf of Gen Alpha. Advocates Aditi Mod, Akshiti Singhvi, Nidhi Singhvi, and Abhilasha Bora on behalf of Gen Beta
Case Title: IN RE: “In the matter of Welfare and Future of Generation Gen-Z, Gen-Alpha and Gen-Beta”