SUNITA RANI Vs. VICE CHANCELLOR JAMIA MILLIA ISLAMIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioner before this Court, who is aged about 46 years, completed her B.A.-English (Hons.) from Bhagalpur University, Bihar in the year 1990 and her M.A (English) from Delhi University in the year 1992, she applied for admission to B.Ed. (English) with respondent no.1- Jamia Millia Islamia for the academic year 2013-2014 and also qualified the written test held for the purpose. Her name appeared at S.No.2 in the merit list. However, the candidature of the petitioner was rejected by the university on the ground that there was a long gap of more than 3 years between her passing out M.A. (English) and seeking admission in B.Ed. Being aggrieved from the refusal of the university to grant admission to her in B.Ed Course, the petitioner is before this Court seeking direction to the respondent to permit her to attend the classes of B.Ed. (English) Course, 2013-2014.

(2.) THE learned counsel for the respondent, who appeared on advance notice, submits that since there was a gap of more than 21 years between the last education of the petitioner which she completed in the year 1992 and her seeking admission to the B.Ed. Course, the university did not allow the admission to her. She submits that since the petitioner is not eligible for being employed as a teacher, in a government school/ college, no useful purpose would have been served by granting admission to her in the B.Ed. Course and that was the reason her candidature was rejected.

(3.) IT is true that admission to a course in the university has to be subject to the provisions of the Ordinances of the University and no one can be granted admission if such admission is contrary to the provisions of such Ordinances. However, I find nothing in the Ordinances which bars admission to B.Ed. Course if a candidate has crossed a particular age or if there is a gap of more than three years between his/her last studies and his/her seeking admission to a course of the university. No maximum age for admission to B.Ed. Course has been prescribed in the Ordinance. A perusal of clause 4.1 would show that even if a candidate has given up his/her studies for three or more academic years, his/her application for admission may be considered by the Admission Review Committee. The very fact that the Admission Review Committee is competent to grant admission even to a person who has given up his/her studies upto three academic years after passing decree/ diploma/ certificate examination clearly shows that there is no bar as such to the admission merely on account of such a gap.