April has been a tumultuous month. School results have been declared; large numbers were detained in government schools, especially in Class XI, to stop them from doing badly in Class XII and tarnishing the record of schools. Poor families are in despair about what lies ahead. Having tried, often unsuccessfully, to help girls get admitted to the National Institute of Open Schooling, I know the problems — the distances to the centres for enrolment, practical sessions and examinations — which poor families cannot handle. This year, elite schools have held back children in Classes VI and VII; the Right to Education (RTE) Act (recently amended) bans detention in elementary school, except in Classes V and VIII. Parents complained but no action seems to have been taken.

For those promoted to the next class, the new quarterly fee slips have brought shocks. Upper middle-class parents are protesting on the streets against the fee hikes by private schools. Students of Delhi Public School, Dwarka, whose guardians questioned the increased fee, were harassed, even barred from using the canteen and meeting friends. The Delhi High Court stepped in, saying the school was working “like a money-making machine”, and forbade discrimination. But discrimination is writ large in our system.

In this medley, the Delhi Police are set to make an........

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