Delhi HC seeks response of KVS, Centre over Class I admission age issue

New Delhi [India], March 8 : The Delhi High Court on Tuesday sought responses of Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS) and the Union of India on a plea challenging KVS Class I admission criteria 2022-23 laying down the minimum age of a child to six years, instead of five years.
The bench of Justice Rekha Palli on Tuesday also asked the Counsel for respondents to take instructions and also said that on 10 March, the next date of hearing, it would consider passing of interim order in the matter.
Lawyers Ashok Agarwal and Kumar Utkarsh who appeared for the petitioner stated that the Court's intervention and issuance of direction are required to the respondent Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan to reframe the admission criteria in 2022-23 in accordance with the law.
The plea submitted that prior to the academic year 2022-23, the minimum age of admission for class I in respondent KVS was throughout five years as of March 31.
It also submitted that the impugned admission criteria of the respondent KVS is arbitrary, discriminatory, unjust, unreasonable, violative of the fundamental right to education of petitioner as guaranteed to her under articles 14, 21 and 21-A of the Constitution of India read with the provisions of Delhi School Education Act, 1973 and Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009.
The petitioner, a kid, through her father Pawan Kumar submitted that as she would be 5 plus age as of March 31, 2022, she was desirous of applying for admission in class I in respondent KVS in the academic year 2022-23.
However, on February 24, 2022, all of a sudden respondent KVS has made changes in minimum age criteria for admission in class I from five years to six years by uploading the impugned guidelines on the portal, just 4 days before the admission process starts.
The petitioner was shocked to find out by the impugned guidelines, that she has been made ineligible to apply for class I in respondent KVS in the academic year 2022-23.
The plea submitted that new guidelines say that "as per the mandate of National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, entry age for Class 1 has been revised to 6 plus years with effect of academic session 2022-23."
However, the National Education Policy 2020 (NEP 2020) has not mandated any such thing. In fact, the NEP 2020 has not made any changes to the age of school-going, children. It has not disturbed the status quo.
The change to six-plus years is an invention of the respondent KVS without any mandate from the National Education Policy 2020 and that too is to the disadvantage of children like the petitioner.