Nursery Admissions In Delhi Are Still Regulated By Norms And Laws

Nursery admissions procedure at schools of Delhi has now reached at an interesting stage. While the schools are celebrating victory over the judgement of Delhi High Court yet they have not realised that the era of commercialisation of education and teaching shops is about to end very soon.

As has been rightly analysed by my friend Shayam Prasad, the decision of Delhi High Court has, in effect, created more stringent norms for the unaided private schools of India than before. To make the matter conclusive and final, the matter would be taken to the Supreme Court of India very soon.

The only solace for schools can be found in the form that as on date the right to education act is not applicable to nursery admissions. But the same is not final and it is going to change very soon.

Even the Delhi High Court has shown its displeasure with the current non applicability of right to education act to nursery admissions and has recommended amending the law to make it applicable.

Legal experts are already saying that right to education act of India needs reformulation. For instance, according to the guest column of Praveen Dalal, managing partner of Perry4Law and a Supreme Court lawyer, right to education is a successful failure of India and is going against the constitutional protections.

According to Dalal, the most important aspect of the present judgement of Delhi High Court is that it is “Appealable” and the matter would be taken to Supreme Court of India. Further, there is nothing in the Judgment of Delhi High Court that is exempting Schools of Delhi from following the admission related Norms prescribed by other Rules and Regulations, opines Dalal. In short, nursery admissions are still required to be done as per Norms and Regulations and the Delhi High Court’s Judgement has not changed anything in this regard, says Dalal.

So parents do not loose heart and schools do no enjoy this limited victory as the legal battle is still on.

Please contact us at ram.ok@rediffmail.com for submitting your comments and suggestions.

Nursery Admissions In Delhi: Supreme Court Of India Would Be Approached

The Delhi High Court has finally given its judgment on the right to education Act and its applicability to nursery admissions. Media reports have claimed that High Court has given a green signal to the schools to continue with the admission procedure. However, this is not completely correct and is clearly a misinterpretation of the judgement of Delhi High Court.

The judgement of the Delhi High Court has reiterated more or less the same interpretation as been given by Praveen Dalal, managing partner of Perry4Law and a supreme court lawyers, in his guest post titled “Right To Education: A Successful Failure Of India” regarding the right to education act of India and its constitutional interpretation.

Media reports have not reported the contents of the judgments in proper manner. According to Praveen Dalal, instead of curbing the provisions of the Right to Education Act of India, the Delhi High Court has strengthened the same and interpreted its applicability to even Pre Nursery Admissions as far as 25% students belonging to weaker sections and disadvantaged group are concerned.

The Court has also declared that the collection of Capitation Fee by private unaided schools is not permissible for the 75% students seeking admission in the general and discretionary quota, opines Dalal. There are many more aspects that Schools of Delhi must consider and interpreting the Judgement of Delhi High Court as giving a complete freedom to schools while granting nursery and other school admissions would be a big mistake, opines Dalal.

The court has also opined that schools cannot engage in commercialisation of education and open ‘Teaching Shops’. The court has also said that even pre nursery admissions must be governed by the right to education act in future and the act must be amended accordingly to ensure this possibility.

The petitioners have also decided to appeal before the Supreme Court of India that may amend the decision of the Delhi High Court and make it applicable to nursery admissions as well for even 75% category.

We would bring more legal interpretation of the decision of Delhi High Court and have already invited opinions of legal experts, media professionals and general public. Please contact us at ram.ok@rediffmail.com for submitting your comments and suggestions.

Nursery Admissions In Delhi: High Court To Delivery Judgment Today

Nursery admissions in Delhi are a good source of black money for schools in the form of donations and seats purchasing that are otherwise available to general public. The right to education act of India has failed to curb this evil practice of schools and schools in Delhi are openly flouting the norms and laws of India.

To a greater extent the nursery admissions process in Delhi can be compared to a legalised education mafia in Delhi. There are many schools that are following and not following the norms laid down by the directorate of education, Delhi.

We hope our Prime Minister and Chief Minister of Delhi are taking note of these negative developments and would come to the rescue of helpless parents. We have also started an online petition and protest campaign against the defaulting schools.

We have also contacted Prime Minister, Chief Minister of Delhi and Shashi Tharoor and are waiting for their official response.

Meanwhile the Delhi High Court may pronounce its judgement/order regarding the point’s criteria presently adopted by schools in India.

The present point criterion is a breeding ground for corrupt practices and schools are openly misusing the same to mint money.

It would be a good decision on the part of Delhi High Court to quash the present point system and suggest a better point system so that justice can be done to the children and right to education act.

Nursery Admissions: Online Petition And Protest Against Corruption In Schools Of Delhi

An online movement is taking a big shape in New Delhi where some of public spirited colleagues and members of legal fraternity have joined hands to fight against corruption existing in the schools of Delhi.

The aim of this movement is to consolidate the hardships faced by parents during seeking admission at schools in Delhi. The education lobby of schools is too powerful that even our government needs hard push to take legal action against them.

Our online movement is primarily requesting the Prime Minister of India Dr. Manmohan Singh, Chief Minister of Delhi Mrs. Sheila Dikshit and Hon’ble Delhi High Court and Hon’ble Supreme Court of India to interfere and punish the guilty schools and their management and the corrupt individuals.

To consolidate the work that we have already done in this regard, we are providing the links of the following articles:

(1) Right To Education: A Successful Failure Of India

(2) Nursery Admissions: Schools In Delhi Are Openly Flouting Laws And Norms

(3) Nursery Admissions In Delhi-The Legalised Education Mafia

(4) Education Mafia In New Delhi: Are PM Manmohan Singh And CM Sheila Dikshit Listening?

(5) Schools In Delhi That Do Follow And Do Not Follow Laws And Norms

Some of these articles are also available at here, here and here and we would keep on updating the list from time to time.

We hope parents would come forward to share their experience, good or bad, with us so that we can provide a holistic picture to our government and courts.

We also expect our justice oriented courts to take notice of the development happening in Delhi and take suo motu action against the guilty schools and individuals.

We also request the Delhi High Court to consider the averment and material made available in this article as part of the ongoing public interest litigation (PIL) as the court has powers to do so.

Nursery Admissions: Schools In Delhi Are Openly Flouting Laws And Norms

The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act was passed with a good intention but it is now proving to be a bane for parents and young students. Various private schools are openly violating the laws and norms laid down by the Act as well as various circulars issues by the Directorate of Education, Delhi.

What is more frustrating is the fact that there is absolutely no transparency and fairness while selecting children for pre nursery and nursery admissions. Various private schools are openly engaging in money minting exercise and Delhi Government and Central Government is not doing anything in this regard.

Even legal experts have expressed their dissatisfaction with the present education Act of India. They believe that the net result of the Right to Education Act is to give “Full Leverage” to Schools, imposing “Obligations” upon the Parents and “Abdicating” the Constitutional Duties on the part of the State.

Nothing can describe the present situation more aptly than the above mentioned analysis. In fact, we ourselves analysed this position and found that education system of Delhi needs urgent reforms.

For instance we analysed the websites of some schools in Pitampura regions and found that they are openly violating the norms laid down by the Directorate of Education. We analysed the first lists issued by various schools in the region like Bal Bharti Pitampura, Bal Bharti Rohini, APJ Pitampura, DAV Pushpanjali, Lancer Convent, etc and none of them have mentioned the points earned by the selected students in a single list.

These schools have simply released the first list without any break up of points on the basis of which the list has been issued. Now how would parents analyse whether their wards have been excluded genuinely or deliberately from the first list.

The selection procedure has been deliberately kept in dark and unfair so that corrupt practices can be undertaken. If Schools like Bal Bharti, APJ, DAV, Lancer etc are neither conducting draws in front of parents nor providing the details of points earned by each applicant how can the fairness and transparency be ensured?

In fact, the Directorate of Education has clearly mentioned that points have to be mentioned against each student’s name so that transparency can be ensured.

In these circumstances, the Delhi High Court is much justified in asking for transparency in the admission procedure among schools in Delhi. The Delhi High Court would also be justified to quashing the admission list already issued by various schools as that smacks the elements of violation of various laws and regulations and corrupt practices.

Related Updates

We have also started an online movement that is primarily requesting the Prime Minister of India Dr. Manmohan Singh, Chief Minister of Delhi Mrs. Sheila Dikshit and Hon’ble Delhi High Court and Hon’ble Supreme Court of India to interfere and punish the guilty schools their management and the corrupt individuals.

As background information about our initiative, please see the following articles in this regard:

(1) Right To Education: A Successful Failure Of India

(2) Nursery Admissions In Delhi-The Legalised Education Mafia

(3) Education Mafia In New Delhi: Are PM Manmohan Singh And CM Sheila Dikshit Listening?

(4) Schools In Delhi That Do Follow And Do Not Follow Laws And Norms

Some of these articles are also available at here, here and here.

We would keep on updating the list from time to time.

Right To Education: A Successful Failure Of India

In this Guest Post, Praveen Dalal, managing partner of law firm Perry4Law and a Supreme Court Lawyer, is discussing about the implications of the Right to Education Act in India.

In Unni Krishnan v. State of Andhra Pradesh (1993) the Supreme Court of India held that Right to education is a Fundamental Right. Reacting to this judgment and similar judgements of Supreme Court of India, Article 21A of the Constitution, through Constitution (Eighty-Sixth Amendment) Act, 2002, was inserted into the Constitution of India.

Article 21 A provides that the State shall provide free and compulsory education to all children of the age of six to fourteen years in such manner as the State may, by law, determine. Article 45 of the Constitution of India has also been reframed and substituted and it provides that the State shall endeavour to provide early childhood care and education for all children until they complete the age of six years.

In Article 51A of the Constitution, after clause (k) has been added that mandates that a parent or guardian has to provide opportunities for education to his child or, as the case may be, ward between the age of six and fourteen years.

The Right to Education Bill, 2005 was introduced to give effect to the Constitution (Eighty-Sixth) Amendment Act. The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act 2009 finally came into force on 1st April 2010.

The Constitution validity of the Act was challenged before the Supreme Court that upheld its Validity and dismissed a Review Petition. From here starts the real problem as the Act has now become Constitutionally Valid and subject to Constitutional Attack only when a Constitution Bench of Supreme Court hears the case again.

In my personal opinion, the Right to Education Act was drafted in haste and without many deliberations. The Act has also “Diluted” the “Protections” available under the Constitution of India.

For instance, the original Article 45 of the constitution provided that the State shall endeavour to provide, within a period of ten years from the commencement of this Constitution, for free and compulsory education for all children until they complete the age of fourteen years.

The Directive is very clear. There is no age slab of 6 to 14 years rather the Directive covers all Children even before 6 years. The Right to Education Act has unnecessarily diluted this Principle and has artificially created an age slab of 6 to 14 years.

Of course, the State is under an obligation to provide early childhood care and education for all children until they complete the age of six years under the reframed Article 45.  This would again create a conflict between The Right to Act, Article 21A, Article 45 and Article 51A (k).  

The best example of this conflict is the Pre School Admissions Procedure that starts at the age of 4 in New Delhi. Various schools have framed their own “Point Criteria” that is going against the mandates of Article 21A, 45 and 51A (k).

If the State is under an Obligation, to provide early childhood care and education for all children until they complete the age of six years, the Pre School/Nursery admissions are clearly its obligation. Till now the State has failed to fulfill this obligation.

Further, by introducing the age slab of 6 to 14, all Inconsistencies, Violations and Corrupt Practices happening at the Pre School/Nursery Admission stage have also been “Ignored” by the State. This is encouraging the Schools to openly ask for “Donations” during Pre School/Nursery Admission Stage.

The Act is also discouraging filing cases and taking legal actions against Schools/Individuals that violate all the basic norms of Education and indulge in “Corrupt Practices”.

It seems the net result of the Right to Education Act is to give “Full Leverage” to Schools, imposing “Obligations” upon the Parents and “Abdicating” the Constitutional Duties on the part of the State.

Fortunately, the Delhi High Court is presently considering many of these aspects and I hope it would come up with some good “Solution” in this regard that was expected from the Supreme Court and Central Government and State Governments.

Meanwhile we have to ask ourselves a simple question. Do we really need such an Onerous, Biased and Burdensome Right to Education Act in India? Let the Readers and Delhi High Court decide.

Supreme Court Of India Would Decide Trademark Rights For Financial Times Name

Perry4Law, the leading IPRs law firm of India, has reported that the decades old trademark dispute between two newspaper giants would be heard by the Indian Supreme Court today.

The matter is of great significance to various stakeholders and we are posting this news brief here, as a guest post, for the larger benefit of all stakeholders.

Trademarks, brands and trade names have assumed great significance in today’s world. They are also essential part of intellectual property rights (IPRs) that must be adequately safeguarded.

With information technology supplementing the sale and distribution of goods and services world over, protection of trademarks has become really difficult. This is the reason why trademarks must be protected globally as trademark protection is territorial in nature.

Similarly, online brand protection in India has become a must these days. The companies around the world are so particular about protecting their brands that they at times cross the limits of lawful acts. Trademark and brand protection under new GTLDs registration by ICANN would further complicate the scenario.

Trademark registration in India is governed by the Trademarks Act 1999 of India. A registered trademark is valid for a period of 10 years that can be renewed for another 10 years at a time. Further, international registration of trademarks under Madrid Agreement and Madrid Protocol can also be explored by applicants. However, the Madrid Agreement and Madrid Protocol and its applicability and implementation in India are still in a flux.

One such trademark issue that is presently contestable is pending between Financial Times and Times of India. The dispute pertains to use of the words/brand financial times. Both parties are asserting their rights to use the name financial times. This has become a two-decade old trademark dispute that has now come before the Supreme Court of India for final adjudication.

The UK based Financial Times is planning to bring online and facsimile editions in India. It has already received clearance from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) and in-principle approval from the Registrar of Newspapers for India (RNI) in 2009. However, it could not start the editions here as Times Publishing House, a Bennett Coleman & Co Ltd (BCCL) firm, obtained a stay from a Karnataka court immediately after the Financial Times received the approvals. FT had moved the apex court against this order.

Good growth of e-commerce in India is also encouraging UK’s Financial Times to offer subscription for its online edition and applications for tablets. This would also extend the growth and reach of UK’s Financial Times in all parts of the world, including India.

In late 1980s, UK’s Financial Times had entered into a content sharing arrangement with the Times of India Group. But, the arrangement did not work and Financial Times applied for a trademark registration in India in 1987. However, it did not apply for the RNI registration of the newspaper title that time.

RBI Would Investigate The Cyber Fraud Happened At YES Bank

The banking industry in India is facing serious cyber threats and cyber crimes. Issues like ATM frauds, RTGS frauds, Internet banking frauds, etc are increasing in India. Cyber security of banks in India is not up to the mark and even the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has admitted this lapse of cyber security on the part of Indian banks and warned them accordingly.  

RBI has also prescribed some mandatory and optional cyber security due diligence requirements for banks of India. However, banks in India are not following these due diligence requirements. As a result we are witnessing many regulatory violations on the part of Indian banks and an increased amount of financial frauds happening at many banks.

The latest to add to this list is the cyber fraud that happened at YES Bank that resulted in a financial loss of Rs 1 crore. Although one person has been arrested in this regard yet RBI has decided to investigate the matter itself.

RBI would on Monday ask for an explanation from the YES bank regarding the financial fraud that has happened at its branch. This is the second case where the real-time gross settlement (RTGS) system has been abused to perpetuate the financial crime.

According to Praveen Dalal, managing partner of ICT law firm Perry4Law and leading techno legal expert of Asia, the RTGS system involves many security features that cannot be bypassed easily. In RTGS system the payment is initiated only after the customer gives a written request for the same. Further, a two way security check in the form of maker and checker has to be undertaken to approve the funds transfer, suggests Dalal.

Meanwhile YES bank is also investigating the case itself and would come up with an explanation on Monday.