Nursery schools move HC against fresh guidelines
4 Jan 2014 6:11 AM IST
Nursery admission guidelines, which were recently issued by the Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung, have been challenged in the Delhi High Court by a body of unaided private schools. The private schools in the city are not happy with the guidelines on nursery admissions particularly the weightage given to neighbourhood children and abolition of 20 per cent management quota.
The petition of the Action Committee for Unaided Recognised Private Schools has sought setting aside of the 2014-15 guidelines on the ground that the office of the L-G had no power to frame the guidelines. It said that the Directorate of Education (DoE) or the Delhi government or the L-G does not have the power to fix criteria of admission in unaided private schools. Central government, the DoE and the office of L-G have been made party in the plea.
It said that the guidelines were against the principle of autonomy and the recognised unaided private schools were given the power by the central government to formulate their own admission criteria for 75 per cent seats.
The notification issued by the L-G had, apart from abolishing the management quota, given maximum weightage to neighbourhood criteria with 70 points out of 100 in the open category seats. Under this, the notification seeks schools to give preference to children living within the radius of 6 kilometre from school and later it was enhanced to eight kilometre. Apart from this, the applicants who have siblings studying in the same school will get 20 points and five points will be added by default in the application of girls and wards of school alumni. The guidelines also seek the minority schools to have 25 per cent seats reserved, like other schools, for the economically weaker sections and disadvantaged groups of the society. The petition is likely to be heard in the high court on Monday.
The petition of the Action Committee for Unaided Recognised Private Schools has sought setting aside of the 2014-15 guidelines on the ground that the office of the L-G had no power to frame the guidelines. It said that the Directorate of Education (DoE) or the Delhi government or the L-G does not have the power to fix criteria of admission in unaided private schools. Central government, the DoE and the office of L-G have been made party in the plea.
It said that the guidelines were against the principle of autonomy and the recognised unaided private schools were given the power by the central government to formulate their own admission criteria for 75 per cent seats.
The notification issued by the L-G had, apart from abolishing the management quota, given maximum weightage to neighbourhood criteria with 70 points out of 100 in the open category seats. Under this, the notification seeks schools to give preference to children living within the radius of 6 kilometre from school and later it was enhanced to eight kilometre. Apart from this, the applicants who have siblings studying in the same school will get 20 points and five points will be added by default in the application of girls and wards of school alumni. The guidelines also seek the minority schools to have 25 per cent seats reserved, like other schools, for the economically weaker sections and disadvantaged groups of the society. The petition is likely to be heard in the high court on Monday.
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