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(2) The decision has been taken only on the directions of the Hon'ble Minister for Education, Government of Tamil Nadu and such a decision is not in conformity with the Full Bench Judgment.
(3) There was no actual evaluation of the problems which would be faced by the students in view of the change in the pattern of calculation of the marks obtained by the candidates in the science subject for awarding a pass.
(4) The Code of Regulations for Matriculation Schools in Tamil Nadu does not have a statutory character and it is only a non-statutory and as per Regulation 7, the schools will continue to be fee based and use English as medium of instruction and they will continue to be free as hitherto to innovate with regard to their curriculum except for the last one year when they prepare students for the public examination.
(5) The impugned Government Order is unsustainable on the ground of discrimination.
(6) The reasoning that 100 marks are given to the students in practical examination thereby leaving those students to secure a pass of 105 by obtaining only 5 marks in the theory is not factually correct since even in the practical examination, external examiners are employed and students getting 100 marks would be only on merit and the marks are not given at the discretion of the management and the management had no control over the practical examination, ft. In support of the submissions 1 to 4, the learned Senior Counsel would contend that when the Government of Tamil Nadu by G. O. Ms. No. 324 School Education (C2) dated 19-11-99 making the medium of instruction in all Matriculation Schools as Tamil contrary to Regulation 7 of the Code of Regulations for Matriculation Schools, the Full Bench of this Court while setting aside the said Government Order among other grounds also observed that when the change of policy which had been there for over a period of half a century, it should have in all fairness called upon the Board of Matriculation Schools, the Managements Association and the Parents Association by sending individual communications to them to appear before the committee on a particular day to express their views. In the absence of the same, the action of the committee cannot be called in conformity with the acceptable standards and norms and in compliance with the principles of natural justice. Therefore, the learned Senior Counsel submitted that in the absence of the same and more particularly the decision was taken at the instructions of the Hon'ble Minister for Education only, the impugned order is unsustainable. As per Regulation 7 of the Code of Regulations for Matriculation Schools, the schools are entitled to continue to be free to innovate with regard to their curriculum. Therefore, the change that has been effected would result in interference with the management of the Matriculation Schools.

7. In reply to the above submission, Mr. M. Rathinam, learned Addl. Government Pleader submitted that the Full Bench judgment reported in " " holding that the respondents should have called upon the Board of Matriculation Schools, the Managements Association and the Parents Association before a change is made in the policy in the medium of instruction is not applicable to the facts of the present case. The learned Addl. Government Pleader submitted, it is true that the Regulation 7 of the Code of Regulation for Matriculation Schools has no statutory character. Regulation 7 relates to medium of instruction as English. However, in the absence of any other provision namely the Tamil Nadu Private Schools Regulation Act and the Rules made there under are applicable to the Matriculation Schools, the Regulations framed in so far as the Matriculation Schools shall be alone applicable. It is true that Section 7 states that the Matriculation Schools shall continue as fee based and use English as the medium of instruction. When a change was effected in the medium of instruction, the Full Bench observed that when there is a change in the medium of instruction it should be only a change in the policy of the Government and in such event the State ought to have called upon the Board of Matriculation Schools, Management Association and the Parents Association before a decision was taken. In that context only the Full Bench held that such an opportunity was not given before a change in the curriculum and had relied upon the same as one of the reasons to set aside the Government Order which was challenged before the Full Bench. However, in the case on hand, the Regulation does not speak of the procedure to be adopted in calculating the marks obtained by the candidates in theory and practical examination for declaring a pass. In the absence of any provision under the said Regulation, the Department of Government Examination framed a Scheme for Matriculation Schools known as "Scheme for the Award of Matriculation Certificate". As per the said scheme, the Board of Matriculation Schools is constituted with a commit-

8. It is not in dispute that the Code of Regulation for Matriculation Schools in Tamil Nadu are applicable to the Matriculation Schools run by the petitioner association. Regulation 7 of the said Regulations which reads as follows :--

The schools will continue to be fee based and use English as medium of instructions. They will continue to be free as hitherto to innovate with regard to their curriculum except for the last one year when they prepare students for the public examination."
As per the above Regulation, the Matriculation Schools will continue to be fee based and use English as medium of instruction. The Matriculation Schools also shall continue to be free to immolate with regard to their curriculum except last year before the Regulation came into force when they prepared students for the public examination. Nowhere in the Regulation, method of the conduct of the examination, award of marks as well as the certificates is prescribed. On the other hand, the Matriculation Schools are governed by a scheme called as "the scheme for award of Matriculation certificate" framed by the Department of Government Examinations. The following are the few provisions of the scheme which could be conveniently extracted as follows :--"CHAPTER-1 "BOARD" means the Board of Matriculation Examination as detailed under Chapter-II.