A 14-year-old girl from Nagaland, who recently shifted to Delhi, has moved the High Court here as she has not been able to secure admission in any local government school since she has become overage for Class VI by two months during the transfer period.
The academic season in Nagaland starts and ends between January and December, while in Delhi it starts in April and ends in March.
Mary Karki was earlier living with her maternal grandparents in Nagaland, while her parents have been living and working in Delhi for the last eight years. She studied in a local school in Jalukie Town, Peren in Nagaland till Class V. After completing Class V in December 2018, she started living with her parents in Delhi.
Academic season
Advocate Ashok Aggarwal, representing the girl, said that though she completed her Class V in December 2018, for admission in Delhi government school she had to wait till April 2019 when the academic session starts.
Mr. Aggarwal said her parents have been regularly approaching their neighbourhood school, Government Co-ed Middle School, Vasant Vihar. He said the school has denied admission to the girl saying she has crossed 14 years of age on May 31, 2019 and hence she is not entitled to admission in any class in any government school in Delhi.
Mr. Aggarwal argued that right to education is a fundamental right at all levels and not only confined to upto Class VIII or the age of 14.
“The respondents [Delhi government] are under constitutional as well as statutory obligations arising out of Articles 21 and 21-A of the Constitution, Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act 2009 and Delhi School Education Act 1973, to grant admission to the petitioner in Class VI,” the petition said which could come up for hearing later this week.
