Nursery Admissions: Delhi Govt Files Appeal in Delhi High Court

Delhi Govt moves HC against the interim order of single bench that restores management quota in nursery admissions.

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal (left) with deputy CM Manish Sisodia (right). (Photo: PTI)

The AAP government, on Monday, approached the Delhi High Court, challenging a single bench order that restored the management quota for nursery admissions in private, unaided schools in Delhi.

A division bench of Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice Jayant Nath agreed to hear the Aam Aadmi Party government’s appeal in Delhi on Wednesday.

A bench of Justice Manmohan, on February 4, in an interim order, put on hold the city government’s circular scrapping 62 criteria, including the management quota, but accepted 11 criteria proposed by the private schools’ association, saying some of the 62 criteria fixed for private schools for nursery admissions were “untenable”.

The court restored the management quota, saying that private unaided schools are “entitled to full autonomy” in administration.

The government filing the appeal before the division bench said the practice of management quota was “deleterious” for school education’s development in Delhi and hence “must be stopped”. It also said it was “wholly non-transparent and susceptible to misuse”.

On 6 January, the order was passed “without any authority under law” or without approval of Lt. Governor Najeeb Jung, and was in direct conflict with the 2007 order (after recommendations of the expert Ganguly Committee) issued by the Lt. Governor which accorded freedom to private unaided recognised schools to frame their own guidelines for nursery admissions.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, on 6 January, said the decision to scrap the management quota was taken to bring more transparency to the admission process, while the existing provision of 25 percent seats for students from poor families would remain in place.

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Nursery Admissions: AAP to Challenge Delhi HC, Schools Relieved