HC dismisses pleas challenging age criteria for Kendriya Vidyalaya class 1 admission

Delhi High Court on Monday dismissed the petitions challenging the six-plus years age criteria for admission to class 1 in various schools under the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS) for the year 2022-23.

Justice Rekha Palli after hearing arguments of counsels for the Central Government and for the petitioner dismissed the petitions. The bench said the order will be uploaded later.

Delhi HC was hearing petitions challenging KVS class I admission criteria 2022-23 laying down the minimum age of a child to six years instead of five.

Centre submitted that there is no violation of Article 14 of the Constitution of India, there is an irreparable loss to the petitioners and they do not have a locus in this matter to file petitions.

Earlier, the Centre had submitted that KVS are a pacesetter and they are a beacon of education. "There is a need for uniformity in the age criteria. It is a part of the new education policy," they said.

Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Chetan Sharma, appearing for the Centre, submitted that New Education Policy 2020 is not challenged and the new age criteria is an integral part of the policy.

He further had submitted that KVS are pacesetter and they are forerunners in the field of education. They are beacons of education. They are for the children of defence personnel and central government employees who get transferred from one place to another place.

ASG had submitted that there were some difficulties in changing the age criteria for the children of 5 plus age getting registered for admission. Seven lakh application forms have been submitted so far against one lakh seats. If we change the age criteria, the program would be changed and would take weeks to reorganize.

The Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS) in an affidavit filed in Delhi High Court had opposed the plea.

KVS had said the Government of India has examined the issues at length and has notified NEP 2020, wherein a new scheme of pedagogical and curricular restructuring has been proposed to be implemented. Accordingly, KVS has implemented the said policy.

"The age criteria for admission in class/ grade-1 should therefore be in consonance with the NEP 2020 because it is settled law that the executive has the competence to decide how a policy should be shaped or implemented," the affidavit stated.

Lawyers Ashok Agarwal and Kumar Utkarsh appearing for the petitioner had stated that the Court's intervention and issuance of direction is required to the respondent Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan to reframe the admission criteria in 2022-23 in accordance with the law.

The plea submitted that prior to the academic year 2022-23, the minimum age of admission for class I in respondent KVS was throughout 5 years as of March 31.

It was also submitted that the impugned admission criteria of the respondent, KVS, is arbitrary, discriminatory, unjust, unreasonable, violative of the fundamental right to education of the petitioner as guaranteed under Articles 14, 21 and 21-A of the Constitution of India read with the provisions of Delhi School Education Act, 1973 and Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act.

The petitioner, a kid through her father Pawan Kumar, submitted that as she would be five-plus age as of March 31, 2022, she was desirous of applying for admission in class I in respondent KVS in the academic year 2022-23.

However, on February 24, 2022, all of a sudden respondent KVS made changes in the minimum age criteria for admission in class one from five years to six years by uploading the impugned guidelines on the portal, just 4 days before the admission process starts.

The plea submitted that new guidelines say that "as per the mandate of National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, entry age for Class 1 has been revised to 6 plus years with effect from Academic Session 2022-23".

( With inputs from ANI )