'Decide on rule change for nursery admission'

The Delhi High Court Wednesday asked the state government to decide on a plea for amending the nursery admission procedure.

The court granted three months to the government so the procedure could be brought in line with the Right to Education (RTE) Act that prohibits screening of children for admissions.

A division bench of Chief Justice N.V. Ramana and Justice Manmohan, disposing of an PIL, directed the government and the lieutenant governor to "take a decision within 12 weeks on the representation" of civil rights group Social Jurist, seeking amendment in the Recognised Schools (Admission Procedure for Pre-Primary Class) Order, 2007.

It sought amendment in clause 14 of the order in the nursery admission process, to bring it in line with section 13 read with section 2(o) of the Right to Education (RTE) Act which prohibits screening of children for admissions.

The Delhi government, in its 2007 order, given freedom to private unaided recognised schools here to frame their own guidelines for nursery admissions, petitioner NGO's counsel Ashok Agarwal said.

By giving a free hand to the private unaided recognised schools to formulate their own guidelines for nursery admissions, the government had violated section 13... of the RTE Act, the PIL added.