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Private Schools to Seek Stay On Nursery Rules


NEW DELHI:
The nursery admissions issue is far from settled. All representations and meetings having failed; the matter is now going back to court. A private, unaided school body will be filing a petition in high court on January 3 seeking a stay on the December 18 guidelines issued on the order of the lieutenant governor of Delhi Najeeb Jung. The nursery admission guidelines—received positively by most parents and negatively by nearly every school—abolished management quota and fixed both parameters and points distribution for them. There is a chance of the case resulting in further delay in the admission process—already beginning 15 days later than usual—but school bodies "don't mind". "Friday, we will be filing our plea in high court. We are asking HC to stay the impugned order of the lieutenant governor of December 18, 2013," says S K Bhattacharya, president, Action Committee for Unaided Recognized Private Schools, an umbrella body to which most school associations belong. "This is a very serious issue. We are concerned about the autonomy of private schools," he says.

 

Statements made by the new education minister, Manish Sisodia, have not been encouraging but private school associations are hoping to meet him all the same. Representations to Jung had resulted only in the change in definition of 'neighbourhood'—the six-kilometre radius became an 8km one. Another set of schools group gearing up for courtroom battle is Christian schools. "I will go to court," says Sister Nirmalini, principal, Carmel Convent School. "Our issues are different." Minority schools are not under Right to Education Act 2009 and are, therefore, under no obligation to reserve 25% seats for economically weaker sections. Jung's December 18 order says, "Those minority schools which have been allotted land by government agencies shall have to admit children belonging to EWS category to the extent of 20% at entry level and provide free-ship to them till completion of their school education." When members of the Delhi Catholic Schools Association spoke up in protest, the Directorate of Education issued a further notification on behalf of the LG on December 30 repeating the point.

Posted on 03 Jan 2014