KVS extends last date for admission as court considers minimum age

After learning that the deadline for online registrations would be extended by three weeks, the Delhi High Court deferred passing an interim order on petitions challenging the six-year minimum age for admission to Kendriya Vidyalayas in the coming academic year.

Justice Rekha Palli took on record the stand of the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS) that the application deadline of March 21 would be extended until April 11. "We are willing to extend the deadline by three weeks," said KVS's lawyer, S. Rajappa.

The court granted the Central government and KVS 10 days to file their counter-affidavits in light of the extension and set the matter for further consideration on April 5.

"Prima facie there was something" in the petitions, Justice Palli observed, and the authorities couldn't make a change at "the last minute." The court stated that it would not interfere with the National Education Policy (NEP), but that the manner in which it should be implemented "must be sorted out."

Apoorv Kurup, a lawyer for the central government, believes that rather than issuing an interim order, the court should resolve the issue at hand. One of the petitioners' lawyer, Ashok Agarwal, stated that certain other central government schools require a minimum age of five years, not six, for admission to class one.

The court ruled earlier this week that there cannot be two sets of schools in the city for the same education, one requiring six years as the minimum age for applying for class 1 and the other requiring five years. It had allowed respondent counsel to file relevant documents on the record and stated that a reasoned order on the issue of granting interim relief to the petitioners would be issued.

The Centre's lawyer defended the new age eligibility for class 1 admission at KV, claiming that it was in accordance with the NEP, which was "created to address this disparity," and that it had written to the State authorities requesting that it be implemented. The age criteria for admission to class 1 in Delhi government schools is still five years, and it has "nothing to do" with KVs, according to government counsel.

"You can't have two types of schools providing the same education in Delhi." This kind of disparity cannot exist in NCT. The court had stated, "You (Centre) must work it out and apply your mind."