Unaided private schools on Tuesday opposed before the Delhi High Court the new nursery admission guidelines issued by the Lt Governor saying they take away their autonomy and right to choose students on the basis of reasonable criteria.
The counsel for Action Committee of Unaided Recognized Private Schools referred to an apex court judgement and told Justice Manmohan that the autonomy of such institutions should not be "curtailed" by the government if the selection criteria is "fair and equitable".
"There has to be some legal, constitutional and valid reasons for tinkering with the existing nursery admission guidelines which were being followed for last seven years," senior advocate N K Kaul, appearing for private schools, said. The court was hearing two petitions filed by Action Committee of Unaided Recognized Private Schools and Forum for Promotion of Quality Education for All, which represent most of the private schools in New Delhi.
They have challenged new nursery admission guidelines issued by the Lt Governor on December 18 by which various decisions including scrapping of 20 per cent management quota were taken.
The private schools were denied interim relief of stay of operation of the guidelines by the single judge bench and later approached the larger bench of the high court and the Supreme Court which also did not grant any relief and in fact, directed early disposal of their pleas.
"Overnight, the government has restricted the criterion which was in place for seven years, it allotted marks to various criterion. What is left to the school? What are we running the schools for? The government has restricted everything.
"The new guidelines amount to nationalisation of private unaided schools. We have done service to the nation by opening schools, giving good education when government failed in it," he said. The hearing on the pleas remained inconclusive and would resume on Wednesday.
Earlier, Padmini Singla, Director of Directorate of Education, filed the affidavit on behalf of Lt Governor Najeeb Jung and justified the government notifications, issued on December 18 and December 27, last year, on nursery admission.
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