#NurseryAdmissions: Delhi High Court stays AAP govt’s notification on minority schools

Justice Manmohan of the Delhi High Court today granted a stay on the Delhi government’s controversial notification dated January 7, 2017 regarding admissions in nursery schools..Around 298 schools across Delhi fall under the ambit of this notification issued for private, unaided schools running on the land allotted by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA)..According to the notification, the schools were required to ensure admissions for the children in the neighbourhood by giving preference to students in a one kilometre radius around the school. It enforced the land allotment clause from the lease agreement, which restricted admissions to schools on DDA land to their locality..The Action Committee of Unaided Recognised Private Schools and Forum for Promotion of Quality Education had challenged the DDA’s condition for allotting land to schools requiring them to reserve 75 percent of their seats for children in the neighbourhood..There were four more petitions brought before the Delhi High Court on behalf of the private schools, a group of parents and two minority schools. The petitioners argued that the notification was against their right to establish and administer their institutions and to admit students..Justice Manmohan today stayed this notification stating,.“Minority schools, which have been given more autonomy on how they run and function including the admission of students, they cannot be told to follow the government’s nursery circular. The government cannot interfere with the functioning of minority schools, except on the ground of maladministration.”.Romy Chacko, counsel for the minority schools, had argued before the bench that the notification was violative of their right to administer education under the Constitution. He also submitted that the word “neighbourhood” had not been defined anywhere in the DDA Act, 1957 or the Delhi School Education Act, and therefore the government’s restriction of one kilometer was arbitrary..Chacko told the bench that the minority schools were anyway giving priority to the students in the neighbourhood, and that the schools were entitled to frame their own method and procedure for admission, which cannot be interfered with by the government..In this regard, Justice Manmohan stated in Court,.“How can you tell the minority schools to admit minority students from within one kilometer? How can you interfere with their operations? It is against the settled principle of law as per Article 13 of the Constitution.” .In what can be considered to be a mini-victory for the minority schools, Chacko told Bar & Bench,.“The government’s attempt to take over the administration of minority schools under the pretext of land allotment has been very rightly stayed by the Court.”.The judge had expressly stated during the hearing yesterday that he was inclined to prima facie grant a stay on the notification. He questioned the government as to why “they bring out notifications at the 11th hour”..In light of this, he also directed the Department of Education to form an educational policy for nursery admissions so that the notifications in the future can be issued at least six months in advance..The matter will come up for further arguments on Monday.