Gurgaon, Aug 19 (IANS): The Swaraj Abhiyan on Wednesday hailed the Allahabad High Court's ruling making it mandatory for government employees to send their children to government-run primary schools.

The court asked the Uttar Pradesh government to take appropriate steps to ensure that these guidelines, also involving those serving in local bodies, were implemented from the next academic session.

While hearing a group of petitions by Shiv Kumar Pathak and others, the high court bench of Justice Sudhir Agarwal also suggested strict penalties for those officials and employees failing to follow the new rules.

"The deteriorating condition of primary education is a cause of worry in our country," said the Swaraj Abhiyan, which is led by former Aam Aadmi Party leader Yogendra Yadav.

"Public representatives and bureaucrats get their children to study in elite convent schools while the common people suffer due to lack of quality and infrastructure in government-run schools," it said.

"If implemented in the right spirit, Swaraj Abhiyan believes this decision of the Allahabad High Court can become a landmark in reforming the primary education sector."