'State of affairs appalling, anguishing and agonizing': Delhi HC on EWS admission to pvt schools

New Delhi [India], December 16 : Delhi High Court on Friday raised concerns over the admission status of students belonging to Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) to private schools, labelling the state of affairs as "appalling, anguishing and agonising".
"These children have committed no other crime other than being born in poverty. This court's conscience is laden with the woes of the poor children and their parents. The state of affairs is appalling, anguishing and agonizing. It is a travesty of justice and an utter failure on the part of the state in its duties of a welfare state," the court said.
The high court took a serious view while deciding on 39 petitions moved by students and their parents, seeking their admission to private schools under the EWS category.
Justice Chandra Dhari Singh, while deciding on the batch of petitions, directed that no EWS student shall be denied admission and treated with conduct that is unwelcoming of them on any pretext whatsoever, including that of suspicion of credentials.
The HC also issued a slew of directions to the Department of Education (DOE) for an effective implementation of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009.
Underlinig the importance of education, Justice Singh invoked the thoughts of Mahatma Gandhi on Nayi Talim (New Education) and observed that basic education should be free and compulsory for all persons between the ages of 7 and 14 irrespective of their economic backgrounds.
Justice Singh also referred to what Mahatma Gandhi wrote in Harijan, a weekly publication, "I am a firm believer in the principle of free and compulsory primary education for India. I also hold that we shall realize this only by teaching the children a useful vocation and utilizing it as a means for cultivating their mental, physical and spiritual faculties. Let no one consider these economic calculations in connection with education as sordid, or out of place. There is nothing essentially sordid about economic calculations. True economics never militates against the highest ethical standard, just as all true ethics to be worth its name must at the same time be also good economics."
Justice Singh further invoked Sanskrit shloka, "Anndanam param danam vidyadanam atah param. Annen Kshavika Triptah yijjicham vidya".
"The afore-quoted subhasitam clearly lays down the merits of imparting education. It is stated that charity by way of giving food to a person is a great deed, but giving vidya (education) is even better since the satisfaction (obtained) from consuming food is momentary, but that (obtained) from vidya lasts a lifetime. This probably could be translated, not precisely yet contextually, to the saying 'Give a man a fish, you feed him once. Teach him to fish and you feed him for life'. Thus, the charity of imparting education is the greatest of all charities. Imparting education is a charitable cause and a calling that cannot be allowed to be metamorphosed into a platform for profiteering," Justice Singh said.
Stressing the need for the social and economic development of the poor, he said, "While we rejoice the 'Azaadi ka Amrit Mahotsav', on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of Indian independence, of liberty from the clutches of colonialism, it is an occasion to relish as well as retrospect. We achieved political independence in 1947, but social and economic independence still evades us."
"It is pertinent to reminisce the words of the Chief Architect of the Indian Constitution, Dr B. R. Ambedkar. He said, 'However good a Constitution may be, it is sure to turn out bad because those who are called to work it, happen to be a bad lot. However bad a Constitution may be, it may turn out to be good if those who are called to work it, happen to be a good lot'," Justice Singh added.
"It is as evident as it can be that letters of law remain in black and white devoid of flesh and blood unless they are given effect to. Welfare legislations must be implemented in letter and spirit to ensure that objectives sought therein are implemented by making the fruits accessible to and exercised to the benefit of the last person in the society for whom the legislation was brought in," he further observed.
The court further noted that the Constitution (Eighty-sixth Amendment) Act, 2002, through which Article 21-A was inserted into the Constitution to provide free and compulsory education to all children in the age group of 6 to 14 years as a Fundamental Right, and the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009, ensuring free and compulsory education to all children aged 6 to 14 years, has become a solemn responsibility and commitment on the part of a state.
The petitioners sought the admission of students under the Economically Weaker Section category (EWS), under Section 2(e) of the RTE Act, in the respondent schools at the elementary level.
Students from the EWS category had been given letters by the Department of Education (DOE), Delhi government, confirming their admission to the respective schools in the national capital under the RTE Act, the court further noted.
In the instant case, the provisions of the RTE Act as well as the directives/circulars issued by the DoE are being violated and brutally lynched in broad daylight, the court added.
"However, it is made clear that the admission of a student shortlisted and allotted under the said category by the DoE for being admitted shall not be denied for want of satisfaction of bona fides of the candidate by the school. Mere suspicion or doubt on the credentials of the candidate on the basis of a fact-finding exercise carried out by the school, cannot be a ground to deny admission, otherwise, it will render a death knell to the spirit of the RTE Act," the HC ruled.
It said, "The schools as such, in the matters of admission under the Act/rules, cannot bestow upon themselves the roles of the complainant, advocate as well as adjudicator in such cases. Rather, if despite the due process adopted by the DoE for screening, in case the school, after admitting the child, suspect fraud being committed by the ward or their parents, they can seek recourse to legal remedies as available."
"It is high time that the judiciary reaches the people and not wait for the people to reach out to the judiciary, as the poor kids are being forced in the instant set of petitions to knock the doors of the Court for availing their Fundamental Right to Education," the court observed.
The HC directed that all the schools within the meaning of Section 2(n) of the RTE Act shall ensure that the provisions of the Act as interpreted herein shall be given effect in the letter as well as in spirit. "No EWS student shall be denied admission or treated with conduct that is unwelcoming of them on any pretext whatsoever including that of suspicion of credentials," it ruled.
"In case of erring schools, the DoE shall issue strict directions as may be necessary to ensure the implementation of the RTE Act in a time-bound manner; it shall not hesitate in initiating the process of derecognition of the schools which have been found to be indulging in any acts/omissions in contravention of the RTE Act and the Delhi RTE Rules," the court directed.
However, the court said that if the schools have raised a contention regarding fraud being committed by the parents of the students seeking admission, misrepresenting themselves as belonging to a weaker section by forging documents and adopting other scrupulous means, the DoE may carry out necessary screening as well as to mandate the submission of necessary documents to authenticate the credentials of the child and his/her parents and to verify the facts regarding eligibility while shortlisting, allotting and notifying the candidates who are found fit for admission to respective neighbourhood schools under the said quota.