The Delhi government has scrapped management quotas for admissions to private schools, a move that opens more seats for general admissions but puts the government on a collision course with the schools. There will be no reservation for children of VIP, VVIP, police, MLA and MP in private schools of Delhi. Kejriwal said it was important to remove the management quota, calling it “the biggest scam” in India’s education system.

In December, the Delhi government allowed private schools to decide their own admission criteria and update the same on their websites. Kejriwal said many such criteria were arbitrary and discriminatory. The chief minister warned if the orders were not followed by all private schools across Delhi, the state government will either derecognize them or take over their administration.

Kejriwal, with Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, who also holds the education portfolio, seated beside him, said the decision was taken to ensure that the admission process becomes pro-people and transparent. Private schools in Delhi have quotas for management, siblings, alumni and many others.
The decision also prohibits schools from making parents declare details like whether they smoke or drink or consume non-vegetarian food.

While the move will benefit parents by opening up more seats, it is not clear whether the government has the legal authority to issue such directions to the private schools which had been granted autonomy by the Delhi high court in 2014.