Stop private unaided schools from adopting admission criteria for Class-I admissions in violation of S. 13 of the RTE Act, 2009 - Social Jurist writes to Director of Education

To

The Director of Education

Government of NCT Delhi

Old Secretariat Building

Civil Lines, Delhi-110054

15.01.2015

Subject- Stop private unaided schools from adopting admission criteria for Class-I admissions in violation of S. 13 of the RTE Act, 2009

Dear Madam,

It has come to our notice that the private unaided schools in Delhi which start from Class I, estimated to be around a hundred in number, have been formulating and adopting their own admission criteria which are in teeth of Section 13 of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009.

Needless to say, Classes I-VIII constitute the elementary classes which are undoubtedly covered under the RTE Act, 2009. As per Section 13 of the RTE Act, 2009, schools are prohibited from screening children for admission and the same is punishable with a fine upto of Rs. 25,000 for the first violation and upto Rs. 50,000 for each subsequent violation. ‘Screening’ has been defined in Section 2 (o) as any method of selection that prefers one child over another, other than a random method. Thus, schools admitting children to Class I are not permitted to adopt any admission criteria other than employing a random method of selection.

However, the private unaided schools in Delhi are violating the above provisions with impunity. As a matter of illustration, Bhatnagar International School, BX, Vasant Kunj, New Delhi-110070 which starts from Class I, has put up the following admission criteria for Class I on its website:

S.No.	PARAMETERS/CRITERIA	POINTS
1.	Neighbourhood/Distance A) Within 5 kms: 50 B) 5 kms & above: 45	50
2.	Sibling studying in school	15
3.	Alumni	15
4.	Girl child	10
5.	First child	05
6.	Transfer case	05
	Total	100

It is apparent that the above criteria are arbitrary, discriminatory and expressly violative of Section 13 of the RTE Act, 2009. The same are only illustrative and all such other private unaided schools in Delhi are similarly adopting arbitrary, discriminatory and illegal criteria.

You are therefore requested to take prompt action to prevent such private unaided schools from formulating and adopting Class –I admission criteria on their own whims and fancies, thereby violating Section 13 of the RTE Act, 2009 as well as the children’s Fundamental Rights to Education and Equality.

Yours truly

Ashok Agarwal, Advocate

Advisor, Social Jurist

M-9811101923