Delhi government relaxes land and certification rules for opening private schools
On Saturday, the Delhi government announced a relaxation of land and certification rules for opening private schools in Delhi.
Education Minister Ashish Sood stated that the government has replaced the previous essentiality certification with self-certification and eased minimum land requirements. The move aims to streamline the administrative process and allow institutions to open closer to residential or high-density areas.
Previously, under Rule 50 (ii) of the Delhi School Education Act and Rules (DSER), 1973, the government had to assess the real need of an area by counting existing schools before granting recognition. This restriction has now been removed.
The minimum land area requirement mandated for registering and setting up private schools has been relaxed. A statement from the minister's office explained that this change acknowledges Delhi’s high urban density, allowing schools to emerge closer to residential clusters without compromising on structural safety or educational quality.
Sood said the reform aligns Delhi's rules with the central Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009. Under the RTE Act, school recognition is based on compliance with prescribed standards, including physical infrastructure, safety measures, teacher qualifications, and pupil-teacher ratios, rather than subjective hurdles.
However, schools will still need to meet the affiliation criteria of their respective education boards. For instance, the Central Board of Secondary Education's (CBSE) 2018 bylaws specify their own minimum land requirements.
The policy shift has drawn criticism from education rights activist and lawyer Ashok Aggarwal. Aggarwal alleged that the decision promotes the privatization of school education and contributes to the decline of public school infrastructure. He argued that the essentiality certificate ensured schools were only established where there was a genuine need, and warned that relaxing land requirements could allow schools to open in spaces as small as a single room.
