In a move aimed at bringing about transparency in admissions to primary schools run or recognised by the municipal corporations, the Delhi High Court has ordered the three civic bodies to put on their websites details of seats available in these classes by February 1 every year.
Details of seats vacant in primary classes after the admission process will also have to be put in the public domain by April 1.
For transparency
“All primary schools, whether run by the municipal corporations or recognised by them, shall forward a complete list of vacancies in all classes as obtained on December 31 every year to their respective municipal corporations. This statement shall include the number of vacancies with regard to the lowest class of the school as well,” a Bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice Anu Malhotra ordered recently.
“In case there is any classification or specified categories of students who are to be granted admission, the details thereof shall also be furnished,” the court had said.
The order came on a petition filed by Anurag Kundu highlighting the lack of transparency on the number of seats in primary classes at civic body schools.
The petitioner’s counsel Parag Jain and Kumar Shanu produced snapshots of the North Delhi Municipal Corporation website showing that “admissions are not opened” and “submissions of online RTI application has been suspended due to updation of software [sic]”.
Stating that the website had been like this for the past three years, the counsel added that the civic agency had failed to control the affairs of primary schools it had granted recognition to.
The Bench told schools recognised by the municipal corporations to provide complete information on grievance redressal mechanism to the civic agencies by February 1 of each calendar year.
All the information so provided has to be put on the website i.e in public domain by February 1.
