New Delhi: An NGO on Monday moved the Delhi High
Court against the city government`s recent order allowing
unaided private schools to go ahead with nursery admission of
3+ toddlers, saying it was violative of the court`s earlier
judgement.
A bench of Acting Chief Justice A K Sikri and Justice
Rajiv Sahai Endlaw is likely to hear on December 21 the plea
of NGO, Social Jurist, that the order of the Directorate of
Education (DoE) of Delhi Government was violative of an
earlier judgement of the High Court which said no child, below
the age of four years, would be admitted for formal schooling.
"The petitioner by the present application is seeking stay
of the Order dated December 16, 2011 of the Govt. of NCT of
Delhi to the extent it permits unaided recognised private
schools of Delhi to conduct admission to pre-school (nursery)
as entry level class in the academic session 2012-13," the
plea, filed through advocate Ashok Agarwal, said.
The NGO, in its PIL, had alleged that the government
failed to prevent "unaided recognised private schools from
admitting children below 4 years age in formal school.
"The government also failed to ensure the schools of Delhi
have only one year pre-primary class in formal schools where
children of 4+ age are admitted directly and are not promoted
from Nursery/Pre-school."
The NGO demanded that the pre-school (nursery) class
should not be allowed to admit 3+ kids and formal education
should start with the pre-primary class where 4+ kids be
admitted.
The application contended that the government order,
passed on December 16, was issued "in haste and in great
disregard to the orders having been passed by this court in
the PIL and also with a view to frustrate the present
proceedings" as the next date of hearing is on December 21.
The NGO said that the government did not bother to wait
for the "outcome of the hearing of the PIL" and allowed the
private schools to conduct admission to pre-school (nursery)
class as entry level class.
As a result, the unaided private schools would continue
with their "pernicious practice of admitting children of 3+
(below 4 years) in pre-school treating it as an entry level
for the academic session 2012-13 and thereafter promoting them
to next class that is Pre-primary class and in the next
academic year of 2013-14," it said.
Earlier, the city government had told the High Court that
it has approved and accepted the recommendations of the
Ganguly Committee report on admission of toddlers.
PTI
