HC rejects plea of schools on nursery admission guidelines

In a setback to unaided private schools, the Delhi High Court today dismissed their plea seeking a stay on city government's nursery admission guidelines that included scrapping of 20 per cent management quota.
"We feel that the appellants (Action Committee Unaided Recognised Private Schools and Forum for promotion of quality education for all) have not shown any immediate injury due to the guidelines ," a bench comprising Chief Justice N V Ramana and Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw said.
While paving the way for resumption of admission process in nursery classes as per the Directorate of Education (DoE) guidelines, the bench cautioned the media against running unverified reports pertaining to its judgement on the issue.

"There was no delay in passing of the judgement," the bench remarked.
The court also made it clear that its observations have no bearing on the final outcome of the petition pending before a single judge bench.
"So far as the larger issue of autonomy and the applicability of the government's guidelines on the unaided private schools are concerned, they will be decided by the single judge bench without being influenced by our observations in this judgement," it said.

The private school bodies had moved the larger bench of the HC against the order of its single judge who had refused to grant them interim relief or stay the notification.

The plea was filed challenging the nursery admission guidelines issued by the Lieutenant Governor (LG) by which various steps including weightage to neighbourhood kids and abolition of 20 per cent management quota were taken.
It had sought setting aside of the 2014-15 guidelines on the ground that the LG office lacked the power to frame them.
It had claimed the guidelines were against the principle of autonomy and the recognised unaided private schools were given the power by the Central government to formulate their own admission criteria for 75 per cent seats.
Central government, the Directorate of Education (DoE) and the office of LG were made party in the plea.