Delhi Govt Threatens To Take Over Modern School, DPS Among Others If They Fail To Refund 'Excess Fee'

The Delhi government told the Delhi High Court that it was ready to take over the management of 449 private schools in the city. These schools, the government alleged, have failed to follow the recommendations of the Justice Anil Dev Singh Committee and refund the 'excess fees' they had charged to the parents of the pupils.

The Directorate of Education filed an affidavit at the Delhi High Court saying the government has sent show cause notices to these schools. The schools are required to come up with a satisfactory response within two weeks, else, the government will take over the management of these schools.

Hindustan Times quotes from the affidavit: "The department has already processed the proposal to issue show cause notices for taking over the management of schools under section 20 read with section 24(4)(c) of the Delhi School Education Act, 2009 and placed it before the Lieutenant Governor, being the competent authority, for approval...."

The Justice Anil Dev Singh Committee For Review Of School Fee was set up following directions of the Delhi High Court. The committee was supposed to review fee structures of schools in Delhi and came out with a series of interim reports in 2016. In a couple of these reports, the committee had suggested that schools return the excess fees they had charged to the parents with a 9 percent interest on the amount.

The Indian Express reports: "Of the 544 schools, 469 were asked to refund the money while 75 schools were inspected and then asked to refund the money. Sixty-seven schools challenged the committee's recommendations, of which 17 cases are being heard in court."

The article states that the government made this move after a Delhi-based NGO filed a petition alleging that the Directorate of Education has failed to implement the recommendations of the committee.

The Times of India reports that among the schools the government intends to take over, some are the popular ones where the city's rich and the famous like sending their children to. "The list of 449 schools furnished to the court includes the names of DPS (Mathura Road), Springdales (Pusa Road), Sanskriti, Modern (Barakhamba Road) and Amity International (Saket)," the report states.

AAP's Atishi Marlena, advisor to education minister Manish Sisodia, told The Indian Express that they have already sent a file comprising their proposal for clearance to the lieutenant-governor Anil Baijal and had no option because the schools were refusing to fall in line.

The Delhi HC, The Times of India reports, however, wasn't exactly amused by the government's proposal. One of the concerns they raised about the government's proposal was whether the Directorate of Education had even a handful of people skilled and trained to run school management bodies. If it didn't, how did it plan to execute this 'take-over' of more than 400 schools?

A bench comprising Justices Siddharth Mridul and Najmi Waziri wondered aloud if the government was pulling a 'bluff' or was genuinely interested in the issue.

source: huffingtonpost.in

timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/will-take-over-449-private-schools-delhi-govt-tells-hc/articleshow/60094152.cms

indianexpress.com/article/education/can-take-over-pvt-schools-that-havent-refunded-excess-fee-says-delhi-govt-4800151/

hindustantimes.com/delhi-news/delhi-govt-proposes-taking-over-449-private-schools-over-fee-refund/story-GdUQGweV5MtpK9dfnQoI4J.html

Delhi parents are rushing to Gurgaon to secure seat....?

As nursery admission in Delhi schools have not started, a number of parents are rushing to Gurgaon to secure a seat for their little ones. Some parents said Gurgaon schools offer more choice, both in terms of curriculum and infrastructure.

While admission process in Gurgaon schools started on August 1, Delhi schools will open their counters only be the end of the year.

“Delhi schools offer fewer seats and the admission process is comparatively tough. But in Gurgaon, the scenario is the opposite. Also, most schools provide bus services to Delhi and so admitting my child in another city is not a problem,” Latika Pant of Green Park in New Delhi, said.

Schools such as Delhi Public School (Sector 45), DPS (Sushant Lok), The HDFC School, Suncity World School, Amity International School, Millennium School, Ridge Valley School, Vega Schools, Lotus Valley International School, Scottish High International School and KR Mangalam School have already started their admission process. Others are likely to follow suit by the end of the month.

Parents also said Gurgaon schools are affiliated to different educational boards, including CBSE, Cambridge IGCSE, ICSE and International Baccalaureate (IB), giving them more choice.

Jasmine Joy of Aya Nagar said, “My husband and I have studied in schools affiliated to ICSE and we want our child to study under the same board. Gurgaon has maximum number of schools in Delhi-NCR with the same board.”

“The better schools around my home are on the other side of the border, in Gurgaon. I do not want my child to compromise on her development and education. Plus, most of the schools are offering at least 100 seats, giving more chance to my daughter,” Manju Pande of Kapashera said.

Authorities of Gurgaon schools said they are getting more application and enquiries from Delhi this year.

Avishek Roy, head, community outreach, Vega Schools, said, “A lot of parents, especially from south Delhi localities such as Chhatarpur, Aya Nagar and Saket, are enquiring about the school. We are a new establishment and a lot of queries are coming forward from word-of-mouth.”

Peeya Sharma, principal of Ryan International School, Sector 40, said even last year the school received 100 applications from Delhi. “There are a number of reasons for parents to apply here. The most important is early admissions and more seats. We are expecting a similar or higher number of requests this year too.”

Though most institutions are welcoming parents from Delhi, a few schools are also denying their requests.

“Parents from Delhi are coming to the school daily to take or submit forms as the admission process is considerably easy in Gurgaon. But, we are not accepting the requests as the school is not providing transport facility to Delhi and giving the children admission would compromise with their security,” Anita Makkar, principal, The HDFC School in Sector 57, said.

source: www.hindustantimes.com/

Delhi HC to pronounce judgement on nursery admission matter by Feb. 14 - Nursery Admissions Delhi 2017-18

The Delhi High Court on Thursday concluded arguments and reserved its judgement in the nursery admission case.

The Delhi High Court on Thursday concluded arguments and reserved its judgement in the nursery admission case.

The court is likely to pronounce its judgement by next week on whether January 7 notification of Delhi Lieutenant Governor regarding neighbourhood criteria will apply for admissions this year.

The order is expected to come by February 14.

Earlier, the court stated it to be a ‘race against time’ and added that it has to decide the plea on nursery admissions within a ‘very tight schedule’.

Justice Manmohan was referring to the deadline of February 14 for submission of nursery application forms in Delhi schools.

The court heard the arguments by petitioners, including section of parents and two school groups challenging the Delhi government’s December 19, 2016 and January 7 notifications that made 298 private schools, built on Delhi Development Authority (DDA) land, to accept nursery forms based only on the neighbourhood or distance criteria.

The school’s advocate replied that the issue can be bifurcated since due to the new circulars, a fresh ground of discrimination between two school groups has cropped up.

The school association argued that interest of 298 schools has to be safeguarded and being the government, it should not discriminate between students, more so, when there is no definition of neighbourhood criteria in the letter allotting land to the schools.

The High Court had also asked the Centre and the Delhi government to produce before it the allotment letters on the basis of which neighbourhood criteria was said to be imposed.

The two school groups Action Committee of Unaided Recognised Private Schools, Forum for Promotion of Quality Education and parents have contended that these circulars are bad in law and have curtailed their fundamental rights. (ANI)

Source: India.com

High Court slams Delhi govt for ‘chaos’ by last-minute notice - Nursery Admissions Delhi 2017-18

The Delhi high court came down heavily on the city government on Thursday for creating “chaos and confusion” in the nursery admission process every year by putting up fresh notifications just before the admission season starts.

“Why have you put up a new notification in January, when the admission process starts in January... This makes the citizen jittery, who does not know where to go,” justice Manmohan fumed.

The judge noted that this behaviour of the government created “chaos and confusion” for parents who didn’t get enough time to plan admission process of their kids.

“It has become very difficult to deal with this government... In the last four years, you (government) have come up with at least three notifications in the month of January,” justice Manmohan remarked, while hearing a fresh petition moved by an association of private unaided schools challenging a January 7 notification on nursery admission.

The court noted that the late notification on nursery has created a situation where if anyone challenges it and the court interferes, the whole admission planning of parents gets disturbed.

“What were you (government) doing the whole year. This notification should have come at least six months or a year in advance so that parents gets to plan in advance. Don’t take anyone by surprise,” justice Manmohan said, posting the case for hearing in the afternoon.

Action Committee Unaided Recognised Private Schools, consisting of more than 450 private unaided recognised schools functioning in Delhi has challenged the notification restricting private schools on public land to admit toddlers only using the neighbourhood or distance criteria.

The new policy was approved by lieutenant governor Anil Baijal and announced by the government on Saturday.

One of the major problems about 300 private schools, which are built on Delhi Development Authority (DDA) land, has with the new guidelines is that they can no longer deny admission to anyone who seeks admission from their neighbourhood.

The government January 7 notification said these private schools cannot “refuse admission to the residents of the locality” and fill 75% of the capacity. The remaining 25% seats are mandatorily reserved for children whose parents’ annual income is less than Rs 1 lakh a year.

The notification gave priority to students living within a radius of one kilometre. In case seats remain vacant, those living within a distance of 3km will get a chance.

There are 1,400 private unaided schools in the Capital and 298 of them are built on land allotted by the DDA.

The committee has challenged the notification contending that it was “illegal, arbitrary, whimsical and unconstitutional”. It contended that the terms of allotment was superseded by the lease deeds subsequently executed and registered by the land owning agencies in favour of the private educational societies.

source:www.hindustantimes.com/

Some Private Schools Start The Process, Others Waiting For Government Guidelines : Delhi Nursery Admissions 2017-18

Nursery admission in Delhi schools started on January 2 and the parents are still facing troubles with choosing schools for their children. Plenty of complaints have been reported after Delhi nursery admissions kicked off in the beginning of this week. Most prominent among them is the confusion over 298 schools in the capital city. After Delhi Directorate of Education (DoE) notified that schools on public land of Delhi Development Land (DDA) will have new guidelines for nursery admissions, so far, the only thing happened in that front is the meeting between school authorities and the Directorate of Education.

According to reports, those who have attended the meeting informed the government authorities their concerns regarding having two sets of standards for schools in the capital. 

Though there was no common admission guidelines published after the meetings, some private schools in the capital have already started admission procedure. 

Some schools are waiting for the government guidelines to come regarding the criteria and they have informed the parents about this, Red Roses Public School is one of them. "Pre-School admission for the session 2017-18 has been stopped till further guidelines from Directorate of Education", Red Roses Public School has said in a notice published in their website. 

Amidst all this confusion, parents are worried. Their major concern is; what will happen if they wait for the new guidelines and its aftermath. For the past few years Nursery admissions in Delhi have seen many controversies, with parents taking schools and the government to court over changing rules and guidelines several times. 

Meanwhile there were reports suggesting that the Delhi government is planning to do away with the management quota in the nursery admissions. If that happens, the schools and parents may again will be dragged into the court procedures as happened last year in which the schools procured a stay on Delhi government's decision to end the management quota in school admissions.

According to the education department's notification, admission forms were available from January 2 and the last date to submit applications is January 23. 

The first list of selected candidates, including those waitlisted, along with marks allotted under the point system, will be announced by schools on February 15. The second list, if any, will come out on February 29 and the admission process will close on March 31.

source: www.ndtv.com/

For 285 schools built on DDA Land, there will be separate schedule and guidelines

Nursery Admissions for the session 2017-18 will begin from January 2,2017 in around 1400 private unaided recognised schools in the capital. But it does not cover the 285 schools built on DDA Land. There will be separate guidelines and schedule for these 285 schools.

According to the notification, guidelines for these schools will be declared later. These 285 schools comprise some of the most well-known institutions in the city.

For the remaining schools, the guidelines remain largely the same as last year. Criteria such as distance from school, parents as alumni, sibling in the same school, girl child etc can be used and points can be ascribed to them as the school deems fit.

Unfair criteria — such as giving points if the applicant’s parents are well-educated, if the child is proficient in music, or if the parent is vegetarian — however, will not be allowed. Management quota will be allowed but will be capped at a maximum of 20 per cent.

The difference this year, however, is that schools will have to reserve two days to resolve parents’ grievances, if any, after the declaration of the first admission list.

The guidelines released Monday flowed from the legal battle fought last year. The Delhi government had come out with a strict guideline where it did away with the management quota and defined the basis on which points could be given. Schools went to court over the matter and won. They were allowed to frame their own guidelines provided they were fair, non-discriminatory, and did not violate Right to Education Act.

The cost of one form is capped at Rs 25. Parents will not be forced to buy school prospectus. All schools will have to reserve 25 per cent of their seats for students from the economically weaker section. These admissions will be carried out by a centralized online application system.

source: www.indianexpress.com/

AAP government takes baby steps to revamp education sector...

A dilapidated building with fans ready to fall off, broken switchboards, and rickety desks and chairs has become synonymous with government-run model schools in Delhi.

Of the at least 957 schools in dire need of attention, only 54 have been selected for infrastructure improvements. However, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government says it is working to improve the sorry situation and fulfil its promise made during the election campaign.

A 106% increase in the allocation of funds for education in the last budget should ensure there is no paucity of funds.

“By the end of the year, the model schools would be ready. We have been told that once this set is corrected there would be a trickledown effect and help in improving other schools,” said BK Sharma, principal of Shaheed Hemu Kalani Sarvodaya Bal Vidyalaya in Lajpat Nagar II.

However, the absence of 500 new schools and 20 new colleges — as promised before a fledgling AAP stormed into power last year — will continue to be a sore spot for the state government.

It is not that the government isn’t working towards it — construction of 25 new schools and 8,000 additional rooms at existing schools has started and is expected to be completed by 2016-17, but the numbers lag behind target.

“In one year, 25 new schools... (are) still being constructed. The government should know that they just have four years left now. Next election is going to depend on fulfilled promises,” said Amar Singh, an auto rickshaw driver.

But the government remains optimistic.

“Improving the infrastructure was necessary but it is not sufficient. Henceforth, focus would be on improving quality — by capacity-building of teachers, competency-based learning, providing onsite support and improving learning levels in children,” said Atishi Marlena, special adviser to the state education minister.

Educationists feel this is not right approach to improve the quality of education.

“I have seen the way learning levels of Class 9 students were tested. By asking basic mathematics questions on division, different levels of children have been decided. Such division is completely undemocratic and discriminatory. Consulting organisations like Teach for India for improving schools is not going to help,” said Anita Rampal, an educationalist.

Another point of contention is the government’s proposal to scrap the no-detention policy — where a student cannot be held back in the same class even if he fails an exam.

Nonetheless, the slew of bills to improve the education sector, including the Fee Regulation Bill and amendment to the Delhi Education Bill to bring transparency to nursery admission, are being touted as “AAP’s education revolution”.

The state is also expected to move forward with its plan to do away with management quota in public schools — after failing with private schools, which moved court and the order was quashed.

The first year in office for the AAP has largely been about transforming primary education in Delhi, but the challenge ahead will be secondary education.

The government successfully launched the Delhi Education Guarantee Scheme — under which loans guaranteed by the state are provided to students for higher education — and will be looking to find a viable way to introduce double-shifts in Delhi University colleges to deal with the increasing number of students.

“Our focus is now also more towards skill development and building a sports university,” said Marlena.

source: www.hindustantimes.com

Nursery admissions: AAP Government to challenge HC order

The AAP government on Thursday said an appeal will be filed against the Delhi High Court’s stay of its order scrapping management quota in nursery admissions.

The schools, however, welcomed the court’s decision saying their “autonomy” has been upheld.

The Delhi High Court on Thursday stayed AAP government’s order scrapping management quota in nursery admissions in private unaided schools. The court said the decision was taken without the authority of law.

It also stayed the Delhi government’s 6 January order with regard to 11 other admission criteria. This included issues like proven track record of parents in music and sports during admission of their children, that were also scrapped.

SK Bhattacharya, President of the Action Committee for Unaided Private Schools of which 400 reputed schools are members, said, “We welcome the high court’s order and it will come as a relief for the parents who have been lingering in anxiety as the entire process has been marred by chaos due to the government’s order.”

He said, “Schools did not know what to do, parents did not know whether the process will be delayed or not. So, all the confusion has ended thankfully”.

The government had last month scrapped management quota and all other reservations except the EWS category in private schools for nursery admissions. It also warned that erring institutions can be taken over by the Education Department.

The same Action Committee had also alleged that the government’s announcement amounted to “contempt of court” as the matter was sub-judice at that time. The committee had moved court in 2014 after Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung had notified the scrapping of quota.

source:www.thequint.com

Sanskriti School can’t keep admission process pending indefinitely:High Court to school

Delhi High Court today told the Sanskriti School here that it cannot keep its admission process pending “indefinitely” on the ground that its plea against quashing of 60 per cent quota forwards of group-A government officials was pending in the Supreme Court.

“You have to comply with the circulars of Department of Education (DoE). You can’t keep it pending indefinitely,” Justice Manmohan told the lawyer appearing for the school.

However, the court did not issue any directions on those lines and adjourned the matter to January 20, as the school’s special leave petition against high court’s November 6, 2015, order scrapping its 60 per cent quota is listed for hearing in the apex court tomorrow.

Justice Manmohan asked the school’s lawyer to inform the apex court about this petition as well.

Meanwhile, Delhi government’s additional standing counsel Gautam Narayan told the court there cannot be any such quota and “it has to go”.

Narayan also said the school cannot have its way and refuse to put up the nursery admission criteria for academic session 2016-17 on their website.

He said the school should comply with DoE’s circulars of December 8, 2015 and December 22, 2015 which mandate that the admission process should commence from January 1 and fix the last date for application as January 22.

The January 6 order asks schools “to develop and adopt criteria for admissions to the 75 per cent open seats to entry level classes for session 2016-17 which shall be well defined, non-discriminatory, unambiguous and transparent”. “However, Respondent no.4 (Sanskriti) in sheer defiance of the circulars has not uploaded the admission criteria and points for admissions of open seats at entry level classes for the academic session 2016-17,” a petition filed by a toddler’s father, advocate Dheeraj Singh, has said. The petition has sought directions to the government and DoE to ensure that the school puts up the admission criteria before the last date of application. It has also sought that DoE should take over the management of the school if it does not comply with the circulars and order. The high court had on November 6 last year quashed the 60 per cent quota in Sanskriti School, saying it was akin to the erstwhile segregation of white and black students in the US and violated the constitutional provisions of equality and right to education. It had also said that by providing such a reservation, the school created an “arbitrary separation” between the children of Group-A officers and all other students. The decision was challenged by the school in a special leave petition before the apex court. On January 7, the central government had told the apex court that wards of group B and C government employees can also be provided admission under the 60 per cent quota. The apex court has listed the matter on January 19 for passing an interim order after the government and Sanskriti sought that the school be allowed to carry out admission process under the earlier system.

source: indianexpress.com

50 per cent extra seats opened up after abolition of management quota: Arvind Kejriwal

Scrapping of management quota for nursery admissions in private schools has thrown open 50 per cent extra seats for common man, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday said, even as he asserted that the government had no intention of “interfering” into the daily affairs of

the schools.

The chief minister also said that the Delhi government will “think” about online admissions on 75 per cent open seats in the next year.

“The Delhi government has made school admissions totally transparent. Scrapping management quota, which were used to oblige recommendations of politicians, government functionaries and powerful people, has opened nearly 50 per cent extra seats for common man,” Kejriwal said at an interaction with parents seeking admission for their wards.

The government has “cut its own hands” in doing so as the school admission process will now take place in a transparent manner without any recommendations, he said.

“We are not going to benefit from it and the government and the chief minister have rather cut our hands otherwise our volunteers would bring recommendations and we would be doling out seats for admissions,” he said.

Replying to complaints and suggestions of parents seeking admission for their children, Kejriwal said the management quota and 62 criteria for admissions were scrapped as they were not “reasonable, fair and transparent”.

“We believed in schools and allowed them to upload their admission criteria by December 31. But some of the schools betrayed our faith and reserved upto 75 per cent seats through these criteria and various quota like alumni and sibling quota.”

The chief minister said that the admissions on 25 per cent seats under EWS quota were also riddled with irregularities and the government has now made this process online.

“They will have no better government than this one if they want to do good things but they will also not found any worse government if they indulge in irregularities,” he warned.

“Now, the schools will not have their say in it. Those who will not follow guidelines and rules will be decrecognised,” Kejriwal said, adding that his government had no intention of “interfering” in their day to day affairs.

“We will think about online admissions on 75 per cent open seats in the next year,” he said in reply to a suggestion by one of the parents.

The government has decided to focus on education and health in 2016 and is working on it, the Chief Minister said adding that policies should be framed in consultation with public, he said.

Attending the event, Deputy CM and Education minister Manish Sisodia said, “There was tremendous pressure from different quarters including the private schools to maintain the management quota. But we will not bow down to pressure,” he said.

The government has only “ordinary” powers to regulate schools and it needs to have more powers to issue directions and take action against them.

“We have included this power in Delhi Education Act by amending it and sent for approval of Centre so that so that Delhi government and private schools in Delhi could work in a better way,” he said.

Alleging that several schools had turned themselves into “teaching shops” through management quota, Sisodia said that the government was determined to stop them.

“Management quotas were used as a window through which money was taken and recommendations by ministers, bureaucrats and police officials were met,” he said.

The schools are creating “confusion” over admission criteria and ending of management quota, but the parents need not to worry as the government was with them, Sisodia said.

“The schools are doing this wilfully to scare the parents. But they do not need to worry as the government is with them to ensure transparency in admission,” he said.

The Deputy Chief Minister, while criticising the private schools over management quota and admission criteria related irregularities, also acknowledged their role in “maintaining quality of education” at a time when government schools failed to do so.

“They have been told that if they face legal problems in the way of doing good things we will change it.”

He further clarified that the government has accepted the demand of private schools for seats for children of teachers and members of management committees.

Asserting that improvement in education required efforts on all its aspects, Sisodia said that the government will focus on training and quality of education at government schools.

source: indianexpress.com

EWS admissions to go online in select schools....

In order to make nursery admissions for the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) fair and unbiased, the Delhi Government has made the procedure centralised from this year.

The government so far was issuing a common form and monitoring the draw-of-lots. The rest of the process used to be managed by the schools, but the process has now been shifted online.

With this, from filling up of forms to submitting of relevant documents and selection of students, everything will be done online. The selection will be done through an online lottery system and schools will be notified about the same.

However, online admission will be accepted only by a select group of schools, to be shortlisted by the Directorate of Education (DoE). Other schools will have a manual draw of lots for selection, just like the previous years. The DoE released an official communication in this regard on Tuesday.

The circular issued by the DoE read: “Admissions of EWS shall be made through computerised lottery system in the said schools against 25 per cent seats reserved for them under the provisions of Right to Education Act, 2009.”

“All the applicants should visit Directorate of Education website www.edudel.nic.in and click the button EWS/DG admissions 2016-17 for detailed information and instructions,” the circular further read.

The confusion between schools that will accept online admissions and the ones that will not is likely to create trouble for the parents, feel experts. “There is a lot of confusion among parents after the circular, as new system is not completely online. The system is not totally computerised and centralised system. It will have online and offline modes for different set of schools,” said Sumit Vohra, who runs a portal on nursery admissions.

Meanwhile, the DoE gave yet another warning to private schools asking them to notify their criteria for nursery admissions. The DoE had asked them to do so by December 31 or face action.

According to the data available with the DoE, 324 of 1737 private schools have not yet notified their criteria despite passing of two deadlines and the Department warning them of strict action.

The nursery admission process in Delhi schools will begin from January 1 and conclude on March 31. While the last date for submitting the applications is January 22, the first list will be out on February 15, followed by another list on February 29.

source: thehindu.com

Delhi govt warns schools to notify nursery admission criteria by Dec 25....

Warning private schools of strict action, Delhi Government has asked them to notify by December 25 the criteria for nursery admissions for the upcoming academic session beginning on January 1.

The Directorate of Education (DoE) has asked unaided recognised schools to "develop and adopt criteria for admission which shall be clear, well defined, equitable, non-discriminatory, unambiguous and transparent".

The schools had earlier been asked to upload their criteria including points for each criterion for admission to entry level classes, other than EWS/DG category seats, for the academic session 2016-17 on the directorate's website latest by December 20. But 1,376 out of total 1,735 schools were yet to notify their criteria.

"It is regretted to note that all the schools have not uploaded their criteria and points on the module of the Directorate. Therefore, heads of all the remaining private unaided recognised schools are hereby directed to upload their criteria along with points by December 25 positively," the letter sent to defaulter schools by DoE said.

"All the schools should also ensure that a flex board containing the requisite information as directed by DoE must be put at the entrance of the main gate prominently.

Non-compliance of the order shall be viewed seriously," it added.

source:ndtv.com

Over 1300 schools fail to notify nursery admission criteria....

Over 1300 schools fail to notify nursery admission criteria

Over 1300 private schools in the national capital have missed the deadline in notifying the criteria fixed for nursery admissions beginning on January 1 for the upcoming academic session. 
The Directorate of Education (DoE) had asked all the unaided recognised schools to "develop and adopt criteria for admission which shall be clear, well defined, equitable, non-discriminatory, unambiguous and transparent". 
The schools were asked to upload their criteria adopted (including points for each criterion) for admission to entry level classes (other than EWS/DG category seats) for the academic session 2016-17 on the directorate's website latest by December 20. 
However, so far only 359 schools have complied with the directive. 
According to data available with DoE, 1376 out of total 1735 schools are yet to notify their criteria. 
"We will send a communication to the defaulter schools to comply with the directive within next three days," DoE Director Padmini Singhla told PTI. 
"This shows the non-seriousness of the schools towards the directives of the authority. The admissions are going to begin in next two weeks and the schools are yet to notify their criteria. This will only lead to ambiguity and confusion for parents at the last moment," said Sumit Vohra, an activist who also runs a portal on nursery admissions. 
The controversy-prone nursery admission process in Delhi, which normally starts in December, has undergone several changes in the past as the authorities looked for ways to make things easier. 
Besides state-run schools, the rules are meant to regulate admissions to entry-level classes in private recognised institutions as well. 
The nursery admission process in Delhi schools will begin from January 1 and conclude on March 31.While the last date for submitting the application is January 22, the first list will be displayed on February 15 followed by another list on February 29. 
According to guidelines issued by DoE, all schools shall comply with the directive that the number of seats at entry- level shall not be less than the highest number of seats in the entry class during the years 2013-14, 2014-15 and 2015-2016. 
DoE has also asked private, unaided recognised schools to not process the admission of Economically Weaker Section/Disadvantaged Group category students manually as the department is in the process of developing a module for online admission under the category. 
Last week, the government had also fixed an upper age limit for admission to entry level classes with the maximum age for nursery admissions being set at four years and five and six years for pre-primary and class-I. 
The upper age limit for admission in entry level classes for differently abled children have been decided as five years, six years and seven years respectively.

source: www.business-standard.com

Delhi Government asks schools to shut from Jan 1-15 during odd-even vehicle scheme...

Delhi govt asks schools to shut from Jan 1-15 during odd-even vehicle scheme

Amid much speculation, the Delhi government has cleared the air and has announced that the schools will remain close in the national capital for 15 days from January 1 to January 15, during the trial period of odd-even vehicle formula. The decision was taken as the government would use school buses under DTC fleet. 

According to PTI reports, official notification by the Directorate of Education (DoE) said, "To make the new scheme functional with least disturbance to our children during the 'Odd Even Scheme' days, the government has decided to declare holidays for all schools from January 1 to 15 and also to procure the services of school buses for the requirement of DTC at notified rates."

The statement also said that the 15-day break would not affect studies much, as private schools usually remain closed for winter breaks, till the first week of January. It also added that the decision might get opposed by some people but the government is flexible on the number of days in the interest of health and well-being of our children for all times to come.

DoE has directed all government schools and un-aided/ recognised private schools, to declare holidays during the period. The government has also asked all the un-aided recognised private schools to provide their fleet of buses to Delhi Transport Corporation so that they can be used as public transport during odd-even formula trial period.

source: indiatoday 

AAP’s Delhi education policy rings alarm bells.....

The Delhi government’s proposal to amend a provision of the Delhi School Education (DSE) Act, 1973, and the enactment of the Delhi School (Verification of Accounts and Refund of Excess Fee) Bill, 2015, may create trouble for the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). Agitated private school teachers and Right to Education (RTE) activists are planning to battle the change through massive protests.

The DSE (Amendment) Bill, 2015, tabled in the Assembly by Human Resources Development Minister Manish Sisodia on 20 November proposes to delete Section 10 (1) of the Act, which guarantees that the employees of recognised private schools get salaries and other benefits equal to their counterparts at government schools.

Educationists and RTE raise serious concerns.

“The proposed amendment completely takes away the right to pay parity of all the employees of recognised private schools guaranteed by Section 10(1) of the DSE Act, 1973, which mandates that pay and other benefits of the employees of a recognised private school shall not be less than those paid to their counterparts working in government schools.

“On the basis of this provision of the law, all employees of recognised private schools are legally entitled to claim benefits under the Central Pay Commission revised from time to time. If this proposed amendment is passed, no employee would be entitled to claim benefits of pay and emoluments under the Seventh Pay Commission that will come into force with effect from 1 January 2016,” advocate Ashok Agarwal, who is also the president of All-India Parents Association, told Firstpost.

The 42-year-old provision, he said, that was achieved after a long struggle has been taken away by the AAP government in one stroke through the proposed amendment bill. “The people of Delhi voted (Chief Minister) Arvind Kejriwal’s party to power for protection of the workers’ rights and not to snatch them, and that too in the manner it is being done. Even the previous Congress and BJP governments in the state did not ever think of or attempt to take away such a valuable right of equal pay and dignified livelihood,” he said alleging that “this apparently has been done at the behest of the private school managements lobby”.

Reminded that the government argues that it has done so because it has “no intention of infringing on the autonomy of private schools,” Agarwal reacted strongly saying that “You (the government) are state, not a private body. You have a duty to check commercialisation and exploitation”.

“Handsome salary is directly linked to quality education. You are defeating the very objection for which you have been established,” he said.

But what are the consequences of dropping Section 10(1) of the DSE Act, 1973?

“A teacher is not a workman either under the Industrial Dispute Act, 1947 or the Minimum Wages Act, 1948. Therefore, there is no protection of their service. They cannot even claim minimum wage as a matter of right. Hence, once the amendment bill is passed in the assembly, their status would be reduced to a domestic servant because there is every possibility of reduction of their salaries on some excuse and court may not be of any help,” he explained.

Shantha Sinha, member of India Campaign for Education, a national forum that is opposing the amendments proposed by the Delhi government, said, “The proposed amendment bill will adversely impact the dignity of teachers. They are as qualified as other professionals such as doctors, engineers and lawyers.”

Warning the government that it will have to face stiff resistance from the people of the city if it goes ahead with the proposed amendment, a teacher said on condition of anonymity, “Arvind Kejriwal has played a cruel fraud with thousands of innocent teachers and other staff of recognised private schools by snatching from them the right to pay parity with their counterparts in government schools.”

Saddened with the government’s move, another lay teacher said, “This is the only dignified profession for women. With the deletion of the section, our salary would be reduced. How will we manage all expenses?”

source: firstpost.com

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India’s Top 10 Day Schools - Academic Reputation

2008 Ranking	2009 Ranking	Progress	School	Score (out of 100)
1	1	↔	Delhi Public School, R.K. Puram, New Delhi	92
6	4	↑	Amity International, Noida	86
7	5	↑	The Mother’s International School,  New Delhi	85
4	6	↓	Amity School, Saket, New Delhi	84
5	10	↓	Modern School, Barakhamba Road, New Delhi	80

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