Private schools begin toeing Delhi govt line on management quota

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New Delhi: While private school associations are undecided about their stand after the Delhi Government's move to scrap management quota in nursery admissions, some schools have started toeing the line and have updated their admission criteria.

Queens' Valley School, Dwarka which had earlier reserved 20 per cent seats under the management quota, has now merged the seats under general category.

BGS, International School, Dwarka has also made certain amendments in its criteria announced earlier. Similarly, Mount Abu School, Rohini, which had earlier divided the general category seats as - 20 pc sibling quota, 20 pc management quota and 35 pc open seats, has now removed all the criterion.

Scrapping 32 per cent management quota, Sachdeva School, has also updated its criteria in its three branches in Pitampura, Rohini and Sachdeva Global School, Dwarka. PP International School, Pitampura has also followed the same move.

Indraprastha International School, Dwarka and Paschim Vihar, have also notified their new criteria after removing the management quota. However, they have reserved 20 pc seats each under the quota for siblings, alumni and staff ward.

In a far-reaching decision, the government had last week scrapped management quota and all other reservations except the EWS category in private schools for nursery admissions and warned that erring institutions that they would be taken over by Education department if they fail to implement the order.

The Action Committee for Unaided Private Schools of which 400 reputed schools are members, has sought legal opinion to decide their next move. The committee had moved Delhi High court in 2014 after Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung had notified the scrapping of quota then.

A Single Bench had then granted autonomy to the schools to decide the quotas. The government had challenged the judgment seeking a stay before a Division Bench, but the matter is still pending.

A hearing in the matter will come up on January 21. The panel's legal cell is meeting tomorrow to decide on its strategy, whether to wait for the court ruling or file a contempt of court petition against the government's announcement as the matter is still sub-judice.

Besides scrapping the management quota, the government has also scrapped 62 "arbitrary and discriminatory" criteria listed by the schools on their websites for admissions and only 25 per cent quota for the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) will stay.

However, the government's announcement and different approach by schools, has created confusion for parents as the admission process is already halfway through.

"After scrapping of management quota, schools are likely to go to court, the parents are concerned about the future course of action.

There is no clarity whether they have to refill the form again as some points have been changed by the schools," said Sumit Vohra, an activist. Vohra, is also setting up help desks at two schools next week to provide free counselling to the parents.

"I am holding two camps on January 16 and 17 at PP International School, Pitampura and Paul George Global School, Alaknanda respectively," he added.

Students of Delhi Technological University (DTU) are also setting up voluntary camps to help parents from EWS category fill online forms.