Delhi private schools oppose 'virtual admission quota'

New Delhi, Aug 2 (IANS) A group of private schools in the capital told the Delhi High Court Thursday that they will not implement a committee recommendation to grant an additional five points to scheduled caste and scheduled tribe students during admission in nursery classes.

Submitting their objections to the Ashok Ganguly Committee report, the schools said it was an indirect way of introducing reservation for socially backward communities in private institutions.

They also objected to several other suggestions saying that they would not be implemented in the schools while admitting students.

A division bench headed by Chief Justice M.K. Sarma directed the Delhi government to act upon the suggestions of the private schools and file a reply with in four weeks.

The Ganguly Committee was appointed by the court to look into the admissions procedure to nursery classes in public schools and submitted its second report on July 13.

"The committee carefully examined all the views and suggestions received from different stakeholders and discussed them at length. It also studied the particulars of admission to the nursery class in some private schools of Delhi made in 2006-07 (under the old practice) and 2007-08 (under the new norms)," said the report.

While assigning a maximum 25 points to the neighbourhood clause, the committee had also earmarked five points for physically challenged children.

It left 25 points to the discretion of the school management for deserving students.

On the recommendation of the committee's first report, the court in October 2006 had barred nursery schools from conducting any kind of interviews or interaction with kids or their guardians during the admission process.

While doing away with interviews, the court had fixed a points system ranging from one to 100 on the basis of which children were to be given admission.