Article 21-A of the Constitution of India mandates State to provide free and compulsory education to all children of the age of six to fourteen years in such manner as the State may, by law, determine. The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 (RTE Act, 2009) enacted pursuant to Article 21-A of the Constitution provides that every child of the age of six to fourteen years shall have a right to free and compulsory education in a neighbourhood school till completing the elementary education. If a school is allowed to fix an upper limit for admission of a child in a class at elementary education level, the very object and purpose of both constitutional and statutory right of a child to receive elementary education would be completely defeated.
A Kendriya Vidyalaya (KVS) at Rangpuri, New Delhi has denied admission to Master Aman Kumar Choudhary in Class I on the ground that Aman was seven years one month and two days old as on 31 March 2010 and therefore, overage by one month and two days. The decision is based on the KVS admission policy according to which a minimum and maximum age of a child for admission to class I must be 5 years and 7 years respectively as on 31st March of the year in which admission is sought. Like Master Aman, there must be hundreds of other children also who would have been denied admission to Class I by the KVS schools all over the country on the similar ground. It is unfortunate that the State funded school has deprived children of their right to receive education as guaranteed to them under the Constitution and that too on a flimsy ground.
One can understand the minimum entry age for a child to a formal school system but it is beyond imagination that maximum age limits can be prescribed for the same. The Delhi School Education Act, 1973 prescribes minimum age of admission in Class I as 5 years as on 31st day of March of the year in which admission is being sought but does not prescribe the maximum age limit. The Explanation to Clause 21 of the Recognized Schools (Admission Procedure for Pre-Primary Class) Order, 2007 which are framed under the provisions of Delhi School Education Act, 1973 clearly provides that for the purposes of this clause, the ages stipulated for entry into standard one, pre-primary class and pre-school class are the minimum ages and there is no bar to children older than the ages specified in this clause being given admission to these classes. These provisions of law make it very clear that there is no maximum age limit prescribed in law for admission in class I.
That even RTE Act, 2009 does not prescribe the maximum age for admission in class I. It is submitted that a child in terms of Articles 21 and 21-A of the Constitution of India has a fundamental right to receive education in the school and he can not be deprived of the same except according to the procedure established by law. It is submitted that a child in the age group six to fourteen years has a fundamental right to education and if he is deprived of the said right merely on the ground of over-age by 2 months 1 day, the said action on the part of the school would be arbitrary, irrational and discriminatory and would not stand the test of Articles 21 and 21-A of the Constitution of India. It is also submitted that the minimum age of entry in a formal school system may have some relevance keeping in view the interest of the child but the maximum age for receiving school education must have no relevance or nexus with the object underlying therein. Therefore, it is submitted that the KVS schools are not justified in denying admission to the children on the alleged ground of over-age.
There is another aspect of the matter also. The KVS school being a school under specified category of school under RTE Act, 2009, had some specific criteria which was met by Master Aman. It is submitted that after the coming into effect of the RTE Act, 2009 how can the KVS school say that the child is too old for class one? Those days are over. Now a child admitted over six, but below fourteen years has a right to education in the school in an age appropriate class. The KVS school’s action in denying admission to Master Aman on the ground of overage also tantamount to “screening procedure” which is not only prohibited by Section 13 of the RTE Act, 2009 but also makes it punishable at law.
The KVS policy of admission is irritation, illegal, irrelevant arbitrary, discriminatory, illogical, unreasonable, unfair, anti-child, hit by articles 14 (right to equality), 21 (right to life with dignity), 21-A (right to good quality elementary education) and 38 (right to social justice) of the Constitution of India read with the provisions of Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, Delhi School Education Act, 1993, Recognized Schools (Admission Procedure for Pre-Primary Class) Order, 2007 and UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989). A school can not legally fix upper age limit for admission of a child in a class at elementary education level and therefore, the Kendriya Vidyalayas Sangathan and all other schools having similar admission policies now need to reframe their admission policies.
(written by Shri Ashok Agarwal, Advocate, M-09811101923, contact at Email: ashokagarwal1952@hotmail.com 17.04.2010)
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