The Delhi High Court has made a significant decision concerning nursery admissions, ruling that private schools cannot extend sibling benefits to a third child.
The case arose when parents, whose two children were already enrolled in a private school, sought admission for their third child. They argued that the third child should receive additional points for admission based on the sibling criterion.
Justice C Harishankar’s bench ruled in favor of the private school, highlighting that under the Right to Education Act, additional points are awarded only when a sibling is already attending the school, but this does not apply to the admission of a third child.
Furthermore, the parents presented two application forms for the child, both listing the same home address but with differing distances to the school, which raised questions during the proceedings.
The private school’s attorney, Atul Jain, pointed out that the education department’s circular regarding sibling benefits does not apply to the third child.
The court also noted that the parents failed to produce any rule or circular from the education directorate that could demonstrate a legal requirement to grant sibling benefits to the third child.
The decision implies that the current regulations only support sibling benefits for the first two children in a family, denying the same for a third child in terms of nursery admissions.
This clarification by the Delhi High Court underscores the selective application of sibling benefits within educational policies.