Delhi education dept set to monitor offline EWS admissions in private schools

Bimla Kumari, deputy director of education (private school branch), asked nominees to undertake the verification of the admissions at entry-level classes by private unaided schools recognised under the Delhi School Education Act and Rules.

The Delhi government’s Directorate of Education (DoE), in compliance with directions of the Delhi high court, is set to scrutinise admissions of students in private schools under the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) category conducted in the offline mode, officials said on Friday.

On January 16, DoE issued an order stating that private unaided schools holding offline admissions in contravention of DoE rules will not be allowed to avail reimbursements. (Representative image/HT Archive)

Bimla Kumari, deputy director of education (private school branch), in an order issued on Tuesday, asked nominees of various private schools to undertake the verification of the admissions at entry-level classes by private unaided schools recognised under the Delhi School Education Act and Rules.

Nominees are educators from government schools that are appointed to private schools.

Under the Right to Education (RTE) Act of 2009, private unaided recognised schools are bound to reserve at least 25% of seats in entry-level classes — nursery, kindergarten, and Class 1 — for candidates belonging to the EWS category, disadvantaged groups (DG), and for children with disabilities. Schools are entitled to reimbursement from the department for providing free and compulsory education to students admitted through this provision.

On January 16, DoE issued an order stating that private unaided schools holding offline admissions in contravention of DoE rules will not be allowed to avail reimbursements. The directive was challenged in high court by the Private Land Public Schools Trust, an association of Delhi’s budget private schools, which said that offline admissions were necessary for children coming from economically weaker families.

Thereafter, the high court on February 23 ruled that the DoE must scrutinise all offline admissions undertaken till that date.

As part of the scrutiny, nominees have been asked to visit their respective private schools and collect data of any offline admissions conducted till February 23. Documents submitted during the admission will also be verified, and their scrutiny needs to be completed by March 31, the order said.

The admission data collected from schools will be validated and checked by the concerned district authorities before a proposal is sent to the director (education) for final approval, Kumari said.

“After approval from director (education), IDs will be created for all such offline admissions and thereafter the respective schools can submit their claim for reimbursements,” the order said.