Contempt Notice - No Annual Report Cards To 8 Lacs Students of Mcd Schools

15.05.2009

To
The Commissioner
Municipal Corporation of Delhi
Town Hall Chandni Chowk
Delhi- 110006

Sub: Contempt Notice – No Annual Report Cards to 8 lacs students of MCD Schools

Dear Sir,

Take notice that a Division Bench of the Hon’ble Delhi High Court in the matter of Social Jurist vs.Union of India & Ors. [WP(C) 3507 of 2000] has passed the following Orders on July 7, 2006:-

“ORDER
07/04/2006

Present Mr. Ashok Agarwal for Petitioner
Mr. Tarun Sharma for Respondent

CM-8094/2006

This is an application filed by the petitioner interalia stating that MCD Schools are not making any assessment of students progress up to grade five and are not providing report cards or any evidence what so ever of the child having attended School. It has been contended before us by Mr. Agarwal that in the absence of any Report Card there is no incentive to learn as merit will not be recognized or rewarded. Even the parents will have no material before them to understand whether their child is doing well or not. Even intense relationship between the teachers and students may be hampered if the teachers hardly knows the names of children and there is no personal touch in the classroom and this will lead to a tendency where even 100 or 125 children can be clustered into the classrooms with no provision of chairs or tables and the individual needs for better performance neither can be monitored nor can be looked after by a teacher in such a situation. Therefore, in view of the fact that about million children are studying in the MCD Schools in 1854 schools and no Report Cards are maintained, we direct the Additional Commissioner, MCD to ensure, that a report card for these tiny tots going to the primary schools be maintained on the pattern of the progress report cards which are issued by other private schools in order to achieve the objects which we have highlighted above. The time to be taken for issuance of report cards be also indicated in the status report which we have directed to be filed by the MCD. The efforts should be made




by the Additional Commissioner, MCD and the Director of Education to start the report cards from the current academic year itself. (Application stands disposed)

WP(C) No. 3507/2000

Counsel for the respondent says that he will personally go to the school as pathetic condition which has been demonstrated in the photographs has been brought to our notice. We are surprised to see that after 60 years of independence the MCD schools are running in tents and the appalling conditions under which the future generation of this country is taking education. Steps be taken to immediately improve the conditions. Let status report be filed along with the affidavit of Additional Commissioner, MCD, within four weeks. The status report also indicate as to how many schools are running in tents by the MCD.

Renotify on 23.08.2006

July 07, 2006

Acting Chief Justice
Kailash Gambhir J”


In terms of the aforesaid Orders of the Hon’ble Delhi High Court, you were obliged to ensure that report cards are issued to all the students of all the MCD Primary Schools regularly. However, in utter disobedience of the said Orders, in the academic year 2008-2009, no student of Classes I to IV has been issued annual report card by any MCD Primary School throughout the city. Thus, nearly eight lacs students of Classes I to IV of MCD Primary Schools have not received their Annual Report Cards till date. It is no less a criminal negligence besides being deliberate disobedience of the Orders of the Hon’ble Delhi High Court. It also reflects that the MCD authorities are totally apathetic to the educational needs of the students.


We have received written complaints from the parents of several students of class I to IV studying in MCD run schools complaining that their wards have not been provided with the Annual Report Cards for the academic year 2008-09. Copies of some of these complaints are enclosed hereto for your ready reference.

One of the parents, namely, Masood (Mob.9958914898) of student Farman of Class V passed from the MCD Primary School, Photo Chowk, Welcome, Delhi has even complained that the class teacher demanded Rs.200/- for providing Annual Report Card to Farman., which he got only after payment of Rs.100/-.


Nathia (Mob.9999017324) has complained that her son Taleeb has been promoted from Class I to Class II by the MCD Primary School, Shastri Park but Taleeb has not been provided with Annual Report Card by the School. Similarly Meerhasan (Mob. 9999017324) has complained that his daughter Shehanaz studying in MCD Primary School, Shastri Park has been Promoted from Class I to II, but she has not be given the Annual Report Card. Sharif (9971926819) father of Master Rehan has complained that his son is studying in MCD Primary School, Shashtri Park and has been promoted from Class IV to V but he was denied Annual Report Card saying that the School has not received the printed report cards from the MCD office. Shri Anees (Mob.9250697984) has complaint that his two wards are studying in MCD Primary School, near Seelampur Gurudwara and their wards have not been provided with annual Report Cards by the school.

It is submitted that the non providing of annual report cards to the students violates the human and fundamental right to education of the students as guaranteed under the Constitution of India.

Take notice that you are the authority responsible for the implementation of the aforesaid Orders of the Hon’ble Delhi High Court dated July 7, 2006. Failure on your part to comply with the directions of the Hon’ble Delhi High Court tentamounts to contempt of the Hon’ble Delhi High Court which attract penal action against you.

With regards,

Ashok Agarwal, Advocate
Advisor, Social Jurist
M-09811101923

SCHOOL LAW HELPLINE

Right to Education Task Force (RETF) is a group of volunteers intervening into the matter of complaints of parents, students and social activists etc. relating to the problems involving violation of child rights being faced by the students/parents with private as well as with government schools primarily in Delhi, and also in other states/union territories of India. The complaints are handled by the legal experts. All services are totally voluntary & free of cost. One can write to RETF at Email: socialjurist@socialjurist.com and/or to The Convener, Right to Education Task Force, 478-479, Lawyers Chambers, Western Wing, Tis Hazari Courts, Delhi-110054 (India). Complaints can also be lodged at HELPLINES- 09811101923, 011-23384000, 09868529459.


Ashok Agarwal, Advocate
Convener, RETF
M-09811101923

YEH KAISI AASTHA? (WHAT KIND OF FAITH IT IS?)

Saturday, 14 March 2009 at about 12.30 pm in front of a Hindu Temple near Deepali Chowk, Outer Ring Road, North-West Delhi, India several tender age children can be seen rolling themselves on the summer hot road under the dictates of their parents covering distance of around 200 meters in order to reach at the gate of the temple to offer prayers to the Hindu deity. These tender age children are the children of the people of the poor and marginalized sections. The parents are literally forcing them to adopt such inhuman and derogatory practice in the hope & belief of being awarded with material prosperity so to compete with the rest of the world. Interestingly, hundreds of passing by rich and wealthy sections of people are just not interested in the world of these poor and unfortunate children.

Such practice is derogatory to the dignity and rights of the child. It exposes and willfully neglects the child in the manner likely to cause such child unnecessary mental and physical suffering. Section 23 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000 makes such an act punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months, or fine, or with both. Article 39 (f) of the Constitution of India provides that the State shall, in particular, direct its policy towards securing that children are given opportunities and facilities to develop in a healthy manner and in conditions of freedom and dignity and that childhood and youth are protected against exploitation and against moral and material abandonment. Article 51A (h) of the Constitution of India provides that it shall be the duty of every citizen of India to develop the scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of inquiry and reform.

The Government is constitutionally obliged to protect the rights of the children. It is well said that the children are the future of the country. However, one can imagine that with such kind of inhuman practice, what kind of future we are going to have. Therefore, the Government must take immediate steps to prevent occurrence of such immoral, illegal and derogatory practice.

-By Ashok Agarwal, Advocate

Mob- 09811101923

COURT PULLS UP POSTMASTER OVER PERSISTENT MAIL DELAYS

BY OUR CORRESPONDENT


New Delhi, Nov. 27: The Delhi high court on Monday, gave a week to the postmaster general of Delhi to explain the delay in delivery of mail that has been piling in different sorting offices here.
A division bench comprising justice Mohinder Narain and justice Cyriac Joseph also directed postmaster general, Ms Padma Balasubramaniam, to be present on the next hearing on December 8.


The bench also issued directions to send letters of request to the editors of The Times of India and The Pioneer newspapers to submit the photographs of piling mail bags carried in their city’s edition.


The bench also requested Zee television to submit a copy of the video tape of the programme on the postal delay, recently telecast by them.


The Delhi high court had issued notices on November 23 to the Union government, the director general of post and telegraph and New Delhi’s postmaster general to explain why a public interest petitioner filed by a Delhi resident, Mr. S.P. Singh, on the continued delay in postal delivery should not be admitted for hearing. The court had directed them to file their replies by Monday and had also asked the postmaster general to be present before the court on the next hearing.


Mr. Ashok Aggarwal, the counsel for the petitioner, had alleged that over 50,000 mail bags were lying unsorted in different sorting offices of the postal department for the last six months. He had also submitted to the court that the postal department and other concerned agencies had failed to take action regarding the unnecessary delay in postal-delivery.


TIMES OF INDIA 28.11.1995

DISCRIMINATION CHALLENGED

NEW DELHI, Dec, 6 (PTI) - The Supreme Court has issued notice to the Union of India and others on a petition seeking equal pay for work of similar nature regardless of sex and classification of employees.


The petition, filed by Mr. Ashok Agarwal, an advocate contended that denial of equal pay because of classification of employees as regular, permanent, temporary, probationer, ad hoc, casual and the like was violative of provision of the Constitution.


The petition submitted that this denial of equal pay exited in a large number of undertakings of the Government. Local authorities, non-Government establishment and autonomous bodies.


THE HINUSTAN TIMES TUESDAY DECEMBER 7 1982

THE RIGHT OF CHILDREN TO FREE AND COMPULSORY EDUCATION BILL, 2008 FAILS THE TEST OF CONSTITUTIONAL MANDATE

The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Bill, 2008 (hereinafter referred to as RTE Bill, 2008) introduced by the Central Government in the Rajya Sabha on 15 December 2008 though appears to be a progressive legislation but on examination thereof, it is not difficult to conclude that the same does not stand the test of constitutional mandate guaranteed under Article 14 (right to equality), Article 21 (right to life with dignity), Article 21-A (right to education) and Article 38 (right to social justice) of the Constitution of India.

Undoubtedly, some of the provisions of the RTE Bill, 2008 are laudable. Section 3 talks of right to free and compulsory education and admission in a neighbourhood school. Section 4 talks of admission of child in class appropriate to his or her age. Sections 8 & 9 talk of obligations of the government to provide compulsory education to children. Section 12 talks of obligation of the unaided recognised private schools to provide free seats to the extent of 25% to the children of the economically weaker sections. Section 13 (1) talks of “no capitation fee” and “no screening procedure” for admission. Section 14 talks of admission without insisting upon production of age proof. Section 16 talks of “no expulsion of a child”. Section 17 bans corporal punishment. Section 23 talks of formation of school management committees. Section 23 ensures recruitment of only qualified teachers. Section 25 talks of ensuring Pupil-Teacher Ratio as specified in the schedule. Section 32 talks of grievance redressal mechanism.

On the other hand, several provisions of the RTE Bill, 2008 are meant to legalise and to perpetuate the existing unjust and discriminatory school education system based on socio-economic status. Section 3 (b) defines “capitation fee” means any kind of donation or contribution or payment other than the fee notified by the school. The import of this provision is that a school is free to notify any amount of fee whether needed or not and once it is notified, it will be legal. The Bill does not provide any fee regulatory mechanism to check the menace of commercialisation of education. Moreover, the right of every child to receive free and compulsory education as guaranteed under Articles 21 and 21-A of the Constitution does not depend on the capacity of the parents to afford fee or not. Therefore, every child whether studying in private or State-run school, is entitled to free education. The State should bear the entire expenses even of the children studying in private-run schools. On the other hand, Section 8 disentitles a child studying in such private school even to claim from the State the reimbursement of expenditure incurred.

Section 2 (n) instead of permitting only same category of schools for all the children, sanctifies different categories of schools for the children of different socio-economic status. Most objectionable is; “a school belonging to specified category”. Section 2 (p) defines “specified category” in relation to a school, means a school known as Kendriya Vidyalaya, Sainik School or any other school having a distinct character which may be specified by notification, by the appropriate Government. How can you have such a specified category of school with ‘State Funding’ which does not provide equal opportunity to all the children in the matter of admission? That providing only 25% of seats to the children of weaker sections in such ‘specified category of school’ is a cruel joke.

Section 7 talks of sharing of financial responsibilities between the Centre and the States. It appears that the Central Government does not want to provide funds to the States uniformly. The State Governments cannot insist upon the Central Government to provide funds more than what is provided under Section 7 (3). The State Governments have been made responsible to provide funds for implementation of the Act. It is submitted that unless the Central Government takes upon itself to provide entire funds for the implementation of the Act, the object of the Act is not possible to be achieved, particularly when the State Governments have publicly declared their inability to implement the Act on account of paucity of funds.

Section 10 talks of duty of parents to admit his child in neighbourhood school. It is submitted that the duty of parent is alright but where is the duty of the State to bring the child to the school. The State has completely absolved itself of such duty. Section 13 (2) provides punishment with fine against a school, if it is found violating the provisions relating to ‘no capitation fee and screening procedure for admission’. Interestingly, the Central Government has lost sight of the fact that if a school is punished with fine; such amount of fine would simply be passed on by the school to the children by levying the same in the fee slip. It is submitted that thereby it is the child and not the school which would be punished. What is required is the punishment with imprisonment and not merely punishment with fine.

Section 26 permits the Government to keep the vacancies of the teachers unfilled up to 10% of the total sanctioned strength. It is a well known fact that on average 10 % of the teaching staff at a time remains on leave for one reason or another. Therefore, there is a need to have 10% extra teaching staff instead of reducing it by 10% as contemplated in the RTE Bill, 2008. Section 31 talks of monitoring of child’s right to education by NCPCR. Experience with all the Commissions including NCPCR is that all these Commissions work like the department of the Government. Moreover, the Government has not so far appointed full strength members in the NCPCR. It is submitted that the District Judge of every District in the country, should be entrusted with the work of monitoring of child’s right to education. I am conscious of the fact that the Hon’ble Judges are already burdened with deciding so many pending cases but one can not lose sight of the fact that the right to education is a most precious human and fundamental right and any further delay in implementation of the same would be a great peril to the nation. The Bill does not at all talk of accountability of the authorities. Unless there are provisions for the penalties against the erring authorities similar to those available in the Right to Information Act, 2005, it is really doubtful if the authorities would honestly perform their tasks.

Our constitutional goal is to achieve casteless and classless society as has been highlighted by a seven-judge bench of the Hon’ble Supreme Court in the recent decision in OBC reservation in educational institutions case. The Government should have brought a Bill which would have directions towards casteless and classless society. However, the Bill in the present form, on the other hand, perpetuates the inequality and unjust discrimination amongst the children in the matter of right to education. That while expressing the above concerns regarding the serious drawbacks of the RTE Bill, 2008 particularly when it fails the test of Constitutional mandate, it cannot be over emphasised that the Bill should not be delayed any further on account of need to have a more comprehensive national debate on the same in the interest of the future of the children.

(author can be contacted at ashokagarwal1952@hotmail.com)
-by Ashok Agarwal, Advocate

INDIAN RULERS WROST THAN BRITISH RULERS

Indian rulers are even worst than the British rulers. They have eaten away the entire wealth of the common people. Only common people will teach them.
ashok agarwal, advocate