HC to decide if minority schools are bound by 25% quota rule

Can’t the private unaided minority schools in the Capital be compelled to reserve 25% seats for economically weaker students for nursery admissions? Harish V Nair reports.

Can’t the private unaided minority schools in the Capital be compelled to reserve 25% seats for economically weaker students for nursery admissions? The Delhi High Court will soon decide on the contentious issue.

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Carmel Convent School on Tuesday challenged the government’s latest notification making it mandatory for all schools to reserve 25% of seats for the poor in nursery admissions.

Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw has sought the stand of the Delhi government and Delhi Directorate of Education by January 31.

The school contended in the court that the private unaided minority schools enjoyed autonomy under the Delhi School Education Act and they were not generally bound by the rules framed by the Delhi government.

It also contended that Article 30 (1) of the Indian Constitution also guaranteed their rights. The article said “all minorities, whether based on religion or language, shall have the right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice” and therefore they could frame their own rules of admission.

The court has asked the government if it planned to take any coercive action against minority unaided schools that have not implemented the EWS quota in admissions.

The school said the Directorate of Education was wrong in issuing threats of de-recognising in case any minority-run schools failed to honour the 25% rule.

Meanwhile, as per a circular issued by the Delhi government’s Directorate of Education on January 24, 2011 dealing on the issue: “paragraph four of the guidelines issued by HRD ministry on November 23, 2010 clearly indicated that the unaided minority schools are also covered under the provisions of RTE Act, 2009 as per which the new guidelines were brought out”.

“The claim that RTE Act 2009 is not applicable to unaided minority schools is not acceptable as these schools are covered under the definition of schools given in section 2(n) of the RTE Act 2009. Therefore minority unaided schools also fall in the ambit of RTE Act”, said the circular.