DELHI GOVERNMENT SCHOOLS DENY ADMISSIONS TO HUNDREDS OF STUDENTS IN CLASSES IX AND XI DESPITE HAVING VALID TCS

To
The Director of Education
Government of NCT of Delhi
Old Secretariat Building, Civil Lines
New Delhi-54

June 27, 2014

Subject: Arbitrary denial of admissions to hundreds of students in Classes IX and XI despite having valid Transfer certificates

Dear Madam

I am regularly receiving complaints from students having cleared Classes VIII or X from government/recognised schools and possessing valid transfer certificates duly counter-signed by the Education Officer being arbitrarily refused admissions in classes IX and XI by the Delhi Government schools.

Most of these students have cleared classes VIII or X either from recognised schools in Delhi or from government/recognised schools outside Delhi. They all possess validly counter-signed transfer-certificates, yet they are being denied admission. Seemingly, this is because the Directorate has come up with an absurd admission-test policy for students from recognised schools and out-station students seeking admission to Delhi Government schools in Classes IX and XI, which is totally unfounded and baseless. We understand that on May 2, 2014, the Directorate held an admission-test for class IX without even giving wide publicity, wherein only 33-35 students out of 400 were declared qualified. The unqualified students were denied admission, thereby being deprived of their future-education. We fail to understand the rationale behind such an illogical exclusionist policy.

It is submitted that there is no justification as to why students having valid transfer-certificates should be denied admission or subjected to admission-tests. With respect to Class IX, as the RTE Act, 2009 mandates automatic promotion till completion of elementary education, students automatically become eligible for admission to Class IX by implication. There is no justification as to why a student having cleared Class VIII as a matter of right should not be admitted to class IX. Merely because a student is seeking inter-state or inter-school transfer, generally on genuine grounds, does not mean that impediments should be designed to prevent him or her from continuing education.

With respect to Class XI, even the CBSE does not permit re-admission to a student to Class X who has once cleared Class X. Thus, a student once having cleared Class X clears it for good. In such a circumstance, when a student cannot even go back and repeat class X, denial of admission to Class XI practically means denial of further continuation of education and spoiling his or her career.

It must be further borne in mind that certain students seek migration on grounds such as their schools being only upto class VIII or X, financial constraint preventing them from further affording the fee of private recognised school, inter-state transfer of guardians or other genuine grounds. Further, one cannot lose sight of the fact that majority of the students opting for government schools belong to deprived and vulnerable sections of the society. A large number of these students are girls and many are Muslims. The Directorate’s action amounts to creating hurdles in their path of continuing education and virtually throwing them out of the education system as they usually have no alternatives. Needless to say, such an action, besides being unjust, arbitrary, illegal, unfair and unethical, also goes against the letter and spirit of the Constitution of India which guarantees to every person Right to Education as a Fundamental Right. It further goes contrary to the provisions of the Delhi School Education Act, 1973.

It is therefore strongly demanded that this policy of denial of admission to students in classes IX and XI or arbitrarily subjecting them to admission-tests must be stopped outrightly. All students having valid Transfer-certificates of Class VIII/X passed must be granted admission to Class IX/XI in Delhi Government schools in the academic year 2014-15. Failing to consider our demand may force us to hold a protest-demonstration in front of your office.

With Regards

Ashok Agarwal, Advocate
Advisor, Social Jurist
M. 9811101923