Delhi: HC upholds AAP govt’s upper age limit rule
Abhinav Garg | TNN | Updated: Nov 1, 2017, 03:05 IST
Delhi high court.NEW DELHI: The Delhi high court has upheld the upper age limit prescribed by the AAP government for admissions to entry level classes in city schools.
A bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar said since an expert committee has recommended the upper age limit and also provided safeguards for disabled and other category children, the court saw no ground to interfere with the 2015 notification.
"The notification carefully provides for further relaxation so far as applications for children with mental disabilities are concerned. The care which has been taken is evident from the prescriptions that rejection of an application for admission to such a special child has to be based on valid grounds and a speaking order has to be passed by the principal of the school.
The notification of December 18, 2015, has envisaged the opportunity of two appeals to the aggrieved parents of mentally disabled children to assail rejections," the bench observed in its order.
It also clarified that admissions processed during a stay on the notification will not be disturbed and disposed of two petitions — one filed by father of a girl student and another by NGO Justice For All.
The court also asked the government to widely publicise the over age rule and also the opportunities available to children for admission in schools. Both the petitions had challenged the notification of the directorate of education wherein addition to the minimum age limit already prescribed for admission in pre-school, pre-primary and Class I, it had also fixed an upper age.
The court saw substance in the argument made by the association of sprivate unaided schools that an expert body constituted by the government has considered the matter and opined that it is unadvisable to accommodate over aged children in junior classes and such an action, if implemented, puts at a disadvantage and even may cause prejudice to that child who is admitted in a class for which he or she is over aged.
In 2016, HC had stayed the notification but this year the government again introduced an upper age limit arguing that it has been imposed "to ensure the children go into age-appropriate classes" since as per rules, a student of a specific age can only get into a certain class.
A bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar said since an expert committee has recommended the upper age limit and also provided safeguards for disabled and other category children, the court saw no ground to interfere with the 2015 notification.
"The notification carefully provides for further relaxation so far as applications for children with mental disabilities are concerned. The care which has been taken is evident from the prescriptions that rejection of an application for admission to such a special child has to be based on valid grounds and a speaking order has to be passed by the principal of the school.
The notification of December 18, 2015, has envisaged the opportunity of two appeals to the aggrieved parents of mentally disabled children to assail rejections," the bench observed in its order.
It also clarified that admissions processed during a stay on the notification will not be disturbed and disposed of two petitions — one filed by father of a girl student and another by NGO Justice For All.
The court also asked the government to widely publicise the over age rule and also the opportunities available to children for admission in schools. Both the petitions had challenged the notification of the directorate of education wherein addition to the minimum age limit already prescribed for admission in pre-school, pre-primary and Class I, it had also fixed an upper age.
The court saw substance in the argument made by the association of sprivate unaided schools that an expert body constituted by the government has considered the matter and opined that it is unadvisable to accommodate over aged children in junior classes and such an action, if implemented, puts at a disadvantage and even may cause prejudice to that child who is admitted in a class for which he or she is over aged.
In 2016, HC had stayed the notification but this year the government again introduced an upper age limit arguing that it has been imposed "to ensure the children go into age-appropriate classes" since as per rules, a student of a specific age can only get into a certain class.
