The Delhi high court on Friday refused to interfere with the admission process of unaided private schools in the city which follow the system of pre-nursery being the feeder class for admission to kindergarten. It also upheld the age criteria of 3+ years for admission to pre-nursery classes.
A bench of Acting Chief Justice A.K. Sikri and Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw dismissed the plea of NGO Social Jurist which had sought the court’s direction to the city’s private schools to admit only children aged fours years and above. It also said that private schools could not be allowed to treat pre-nursery as the feeder class for admission to kindergarten.
The court said that schools having pre-school or pre-primary classes at entry level may continue with their respective admission procedure. “Denying informal education to three-plus children would be discriminatory and counter productive,” the bench said.
The bench said it differed with the findings of the Ganguly Committee which had said that children below the age of four should not be burdened with schooling. “We do not agree with the Ganguly Committee’s findings as even the Right to Education Act provides for inclusive elementary education for all the children since their conception to eight years of age,” the bench said.
The NGO had challenged the December 16 order of the Delhi government that allowed schools to admit children in nursery classes at the age of three. In its petition, the NGO had pointed out that some schools have been admitting three plus children, while others have been taking in only four plus children and this has led to creation of two entry levels.
The high court, however, refused to interfere with the age criteria saying elementary education was necessary for all the children and schools may stick to their respective admission procedure.