Stay on draw of lots to continue
The agonising wait for parents to get their children admitted in nursery was prolonged as the Delhi High Court on Monday said its stay on fresh draw of lots will continue till Friday when it will hear pleas against the admission guidelines. The court also rejected the data provided by Directorate of Education (DoE) of Delhi Government in pursuance of earlier direction seeking details pertaining to nursery admission in the unaided recognised private schools.
The bench of Acting Chief Justice BD Ahmed and Justice Siddharth Mridul asked the DoE to file the data afresh containing recent status of seats and other aspects related to the nursery admission. During the brief hearing, the court was not convinced with the reply of government that nursery admission guidelines have been framed after proper deliberations, taking into account all relevant issues including the neighbourhood scheme.
“What about the larger issueIJ What about the right to educationIJ The issue is simply of demand and supply. Seats are few and demands are more. What are you doing to deal with itIJ” it asked. “In every academic year, the courts are flooded with such petitions,” the bench said, in the packed courtroom.
The court is hearing several petitions and appeals filed by parents against various aspects of nursery admission. One of the appeals seek scrapping of 5 and 20 points being awarded to kids falling under alumni and sibling categories respectively saying the kids, having only 70 neighbourhood points, are left with no hope or scope of getting admission.
Another appeal has been filed by some parents against the March 6 order of the single judge bench by which government was asked to conduct a fresh draw of lots among similarly placed kids who have secured 70 points on the basis of neighbourhood criteria.