MUMBAI, March 31: The Bombay High Court has admitted two petitions challenging the legality of certain provisions in the Maharashtra Pre-School Centres (Regulation of Admissions) Act, 1996. The newly introduced legislation prohibits malpractices adopted by school managements and regulates the admissions to the pre-school centres (Balwadi). The act rules out interviews of the tiny tots as well as donations at the time of admissions.While the first petition has been filed by two parents, Nishit Dhruv and Nitesh Merchant, the second one has been filed by Forum Against Christian Exploitation (FACE). The petitions, filed on behalf of prospective pre-primary students, were admitted by the division bench of Justice B P Saraf and S Radhakrishnan. The next hearing is on April 15.
According to section five of the Act, every pre-school centre will have to admit 80 per cent of the students from the neighbouring residential area, irrespective of caste, creed and religion, whereas the rest of the 20 per cent seatscan be allotted as per the management's discretion.
The petition filed by FACE states that the 20 per cent discretionary quota is inadequate. Of the total number of students seeking admissions, Catholics form a large majority. For instance, in South Mumbai pre-school centres, Catholics form over 2 per cent of the admission seekers. In Western suburbs like Bhayander, Mira Road and Vasai, they form over 40 per cent of the total students seeking admissions. Even the school centres, promoted by Catholics, face tremendous problems in accommodating their candidates. Therefore, the petitioners claim, the quota should be increased. Moreover, the 20 per cent discretionary quota should be made transferable among Catholic institutions, the petition claimed. According to the second petition, Section five of the Pre-School Act is illegal and unconstitutional. They stated that the government cannot regulate the admissions of the Balwadis since they are run by private unaided managements. They also claim that the 80 percent quota for "students in the neighbouring residences" is not clearly defined. The petition also said the new enactment ignores the aspect of merit-based admissions.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
