AAP sniffs nexus among Congress, BJP, private schools

NEW DELHI: The AAP today alleged that BJP and Congress leaders have a "nexus" with managements of private schools in Delhi and warned that the Delhi government will reveal certain names "complicit" in this act if the parties don't do so voluntarily.

The party said only such involvement can explain the "opposition" to the decision of scrapping of management and all other quotas in private schools.

The Congress and BJP rejected the charges and the former rpt former accused the AAP of behaving like an "NGO".

"Why are they opposing? Is it because the vested interests have been challenged? What else explains their compulsions to oppose especially when people are happy?" AAP's Delhi convenor Dilip Pandey asked.

Pandey alleged that BJP leaders are "running schools" and that the city government will reveal those names. "Some people have also taken the benami route in this regard," he charged.

Reacting to the accusations, Delhi BJP chief Satish Upadhyay said the government should have "spoken to the stakeholders" before making the declaration while Congress spokesperson Sharmistha Mukherjee said the changes should have been incorporated in the recently passed Education Bills.

"The selection criteria should be clearly described otherwise it amounts to giving more discretionary powers in the hands of schools," Mukherjee said.

Upadhyay rubbished the allegations that BJP leaders were running schools with the connivance of managements of schools. "Why are they acting like an NGO and why are they asking questions if they have any such evidence?" Mukherjee asked.

R C Jain, chairperson of Delhi State Public Schools' Management Association, which has over 2,000 schools as its members, said, "Having management quota or not having it is schools' autonomy, the government can't snatch that right. If there is any corruption in the name of quota or there is exchange of money, the government can impose a check but why scrap it altogether?

The government has also scrapped 62 "arbitrary and discriminatory" criteria listed by the schools on their websites for admissions. However, the 25 per cent quota for the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) will stay.

The decision came in the mid of the admission process for nursery classes in over 2,500 private schools in the capital.