Instead of taking over private schools, improve public schools: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday, identifying the poor quality of education and infrastructure in government schools, questioned the AAP government whether its bureaucrats intend to send their wards in government schools or not.

Severed with poor quality education and poor infrastructures, public schools are in no way near comparison to private schools.

“Your standards have fallen so steeply that it will take time to come up to the mark,” the court remarked adding, “Can you and me decide where the child of a parent should go to study.”

Instead of taking over the private schools, government should mull over to improve public schools in such a manner that the parents will opt for public school in the near future, observed Justice Manmohan.

“Your (Delhi government) schools are below the line. In United States of America people prefer to admit their children in public schools as the infrastructure and teachers are good. In our public schools, the teachers do not even turn up for classes. It’s not worth talking about the infrastructure,” the court said, noting that “choice of freedom for everyone, especially with regard to education, cannot be merely taken away by an order” with regard to nursery admission on the basis of the neighbourhood criterion.

What has prompted the Delhi High Court to step in?

Following the orders issued by the AAP government in the recent times asking the private schools to admit students in nursery from its neighbourhood, the private schools took the matter to the court.

The recent court’s observation came following the hearing of pleas challenging the AAP government’s recent order to private unaided schools to admit students in nursery using the neighbourhood norm.

The nursery admission guidelines have been bringing up major issues for the private schools lately.

The Delhi High Court had earlier slammed the AAP government for issuing the admission guidelines in a limited time where several parents were left confused and aggrieved.

Government’s stance for over this decision:

The Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Sanjay Jain, appearing for the Directorate of Education (DoE), claimed that the government has been taking due initiatives to improve public schools and guidelines imposed on the private unaided schools as a part of it, so that they will be allowed to go ahead with the decision. (neighbourhood norm).

“DoE has power to regulate rules with regard to schools here and the institutes should abide by these,” informed ASG to the court adding the last date for submissions of forms for nursery admission have been extended till February 14.

However, the court has opined that such practice will invite corruption as it will prompt the parents to provide false documents during the admission process just to secure admission for their wards.

source”cnbc”