Delhi HC came down heavily on the city’s education department for its failure to ensure that schools built on subsidised public land provide free education to 20 percent of its students.
The Delhi High Court on Monday came down heavily on the city’s education department for its failure to ensure that schools built on subsidised public land provide free education to 20 percent of its students.
Holding Delhi’s Directorate of Education responsible for failure in implementing the court’s recent order, a division bench of justices T S Thakur and S N Agrawal said, “We are not impressed by the submission. The director of education is the trustee and responsible for the execution of the clause (in lease agreement for land to the school).”
Expressing anguish over non-compliance of the agreement, the bench said, "Your officers are not taking action against the defaulting schools for extraneous reasons."
The director should have examined the matter and withdrawn its recognition of the schools, which had been defaulting for years, the bench said.
It added that, alternatively, the department should have written to the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) to cancel land allotment to the defaulting schools.
Directing the government to ensure strict implementation of the land lease agreement with the schools, the court observed that criminal proceedings should have been initiated against the defaulting schools. The court adjourned the matter for further hearing Tuesday. Counsel Avinash Awalwat appearing for the directorate, submitted that the court-appointed committee had recommended all the 361 public schools, built on subsidized public land, should reserve 20 percent of their total seats for free education to their poor students.
On January 31, some public schools had filed a petition challenging the Delhi government's notification for free education to 20 per cent of students in schools built on subsidised land. The petitioners contended that the notification could not be implemented in its present form.
The high court had directed the government to implement the provisions in the lease deeds with the schools by forcing them to admit at least 20 per cent students under freeship quota.
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