extract donations, all of which are illegal, anti-social practices," adds Vijender Gupta, president of the Abhivavak Mahasangh, a Delhi-based parents’ organisation convened in 1997. But even as Delhi’s middle class parental community is celebrating the Supreme Court’s judgement in the Modern School Case, there’s a possibility that their victory may be pyrrhic. Because while adjudicating this case, the court also upheld the Delhi high court’s order of January 20 directing the director of education to ensure that some 1,200 unaided schools which were allotted land at concessional prices fulfil their obligation to provide scholarships to poor children up to 25% of the schools’ enrolment. Most parents are not only opposed to this directive of the courts, but may well have to pay higher fees to cross-subsidise the education of poor students admitted into their children’s schools. Section 4: Upside for the well positioned Indian education 14 March 2008 bhavtosh.vajpayee@clsa.com 45 Upside for the well positioned Select
