EWS admissions: Private schools to get reimbursement for only 10% students, Chandigarh admn tells HC

The response came on the plea by Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Chandigarh, which runs Bhavan Vidyalaya, Sector 27

The Chandigarh administration has told the Punjab and Haryana high court that private schools are to get reimbursement under the economically weaker section (EWS) category for only 10% admissions made each year.

The response came on the plea by Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Chandigarh, which runs Bhavan Vidyalaya, Sector 27. The school had approached the high court in August, alleging that the UT administration was dilly dallying on reimbursements since 2012. It had demanded that the UT be restrained from compelling the school to admit students under the EWS category till the previous dues are reimbursed. Almost ₹2.5 crore are due since 2011-12, it had claimed before court.

However, in its reply, the UT has told court that these educational institutes have been allotted land on leasehold under a 1996 scheme, according to which they were required to admit 5% of students as part of social responsibility from EWS category without charging any dues. Subsequently, the 5% limit was enhanced to 15% in 2005, and it covered all schools that got land prior to this policy or after the notification of the policy, it told court.

As per data available with the UT education department, for 2019-2020, 56 private schools had reserved 730 EWS seats under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009.

The UT told court that the Act was implemented in 2010, according to which schools were to admit 25% students from EWS category, for which reimbursements were to be made by the respective governments or administrations.

However, the law said it clearly that where the school is already under an obligation to provide free education to a certain number of children for getting land on concessional rate, then to the extent of that obligation no reimbursements would be made under the Act, court was told, adding that in view of this, schools are entitled for reimbursement for only 10% students and not 25% students admitted by them each year.