(File Photo)
The Supreme Court has issued a show cause order to the defendants for adopting the lottery system for student admissions at St. Xavier's and St. Mary's schools in Lalitpur.
Hearing on the writ filed by Advocate Sujata KC, a single bench of Justice Nahakul Subedi on Friday issued the order to St. Xavier's and St. Mary's schools to explain why they use this lottery system for students' enrolment.
Advocate Sujata KC had filed a writ petition in the Supreme Court against the lottery system for student admissions at St. Xavier's and St. Mary's schools in Lalitpur, demanding that admissions be based on merit.
The petition names St. Xavier's, St. Mary's, Lalitpur Metropolitan City, the city's education department, the Ministry of Social Development of Bagmati Province, and the Ministry of Education and Sports as defendants.
These schools have been criticized for allegedly granting admissions only through recommendations from influential people due to the high demand for admission.
However, the writ claims that conducting admissions through a lottery system, after issuing a notice, does not test the students' academic ability, creativity, and merit. It jeopardizes the students' future and is against the core values of education, therefore, this practice should be abolished, argues the petitioner.
"...in the upcoming academic session's admission process for Grade 1, conduct and facilitate the enrollment of students in accordance with the spirit of the prevailing inclusion principle based on meritocracy," states the writ, urging the court to issue an appropriate order to invalidate the lottery system for students enrollment."
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