EDUCATION - 2004 - Indian Social Institute

HRD minister Murli Manohar Joshi not been out campaigning, he might have inaugurated the
week, officials speculate. The Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan — India's own programme for
universalisation of primary education — happens to be Mr Joshi's pet project. Only last
November, the ministry hosted an international Unesco conference successfully lobbied for a big
$500 million loan from a World Bank-led consortium to help finance the campaign for the next
four years. At Friday's function, the ministry said, 400 children participated in art, creative writing
and other competitions. Earlier in the week, a voluntary organisation — taking its cue from the
real-life elections — organised children into an exercise in which they cast "votes for education" in
street-side ballot boxes. (Asian Age 25.4.04)
27 th April
20% seats to be reserved for poor in city’s private schools (11)
New Delhi, April 26: Now it will be mandatory for all private schools in the capital to give 20 per
cent reservation to the economically weaker sections people at the time of admission in all
classes. However, those schools, who were allotted land at throw away price by the DDA, will
have to give admission to poor students as per the agreement. This . decision of the government
will be notified in a day or two. While confirming this decision, Delhi chief minister Ms Sheila
Dikshit told The Asian Age, "a decision has been taken following the high court order. Now it will
be mandatory for private schools in the capital to give 20 per cent reservation to the economically
weaker sections people at the time of admission. It will be applicable from the coming academic
session, the city’s chief minister added. Recently, the Delhi high court gave strong directions to
the Delhi government to publish in newspapers the list of un-aided private schools, who failed to
discharge the obligation of admitting a fixed percentage of children from economically weaker
sections. (Asian Age 27.4.04)
28 th April
Curb commercialisation of education, says SC (11)
New Delhi: Striving to curb commercialisation of education by private schools in Delhi, the
Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the authorities concerned to verify whether the educational institutions
were complying with various conditions, such as imparting free education to poor
students imposed on them, while allotting them land at concessional rates A three-judge Bench
of Chief Justice V N Khare, Justices S B Sinha and S H Kapadia by a 2:1 majority judgment
dismissed the appeals by almost all the public schools, thus challenging a high court order which
had empowered the government to intervene in cases of schools' excess fees. In its October
1998 judgment, the HC had provided a methodology for fixing of fees, in which consultation with
representatives of the parents was mandatory. However, the court had said that if thereafter the
government found the fees to be excessive, it could intervene in the matter and the schools could
approach a statutory committee for redressal of their grievances. The majority verdict by Khare
and Kapadia ordered the education director to check the land allotment letters of all public
schools and inquire whether they were admitting underprivileged students. (Times of India
28.4.040)
30 th April
Parents want schools to refund donations (11)
New Delhi, April 29: Welcoming the Supreme Court's guidelines to prevent commercialisation of
education as an "appropriate step to save the parents," Delhi Abhibhavak Mahasangh on
Thursday demanded immediate withdrawal of fee hike by schools in the capital.
"Details of fee hike during the last five years should be called for and checked and arbitrary
increase be arranged to be refunded to all the aggrieved parents," Delhi Abhibhavak
Mahasangh president Vijender Kumar Gupta said in a release here. The Supreme Court had on
Tuesday set stringent guidelines to prevent commercialisation of education by private schools in
Delhi and directed the authorities to verify whether schools were adhering to the conditions linked
to allotment of land to them at concessional rates by the government. A three-judge bench of the
Supreme Court had dismissed the petitions filed by almost all public schools in Delhi, challenging
a Delhi high court order asking the government to intervene in cases of excess charging of fees
by them. (Asian Age 30.4.04)