Govt committed to 25 pc quota for poor students in pvt schools

Launching the consultation process for reforms in education, HRD Minister Kapil Sibal on Thursday underlined his commitment to implement 25 per cent quota in private schools for poor students as proposed in the Right To Education Bill.

Launching the consultation process for reforms in education, HRD Minister Kapil Sibal on Thursday underlined his commitment to implement 25 per cent quota in private schools for poor students as proposed in the Right To Education Bill.

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Interacting with school principals in New Delhi, Sibal said the institutions have responsibility to educate the people as the country is estimated to have 47 million surplus students by 2020.

The Right To Education Bill, which has been pending in the Parliament, seeks to reserve 25 per cent of the seats for children of weaker sections from the neighbourhood. The Bill says that the government will bear the cost of education of these poor children.

Allying apprehensions expressed by some of the principals about additional financial burden they will have to bear, Sibal said the government will prepare a compensatory mechanism for them "as per provisions of the Act".

"We will ensure the students of poor and weaker sections get education. We will prepare a compensatory mechanism as per the provisions," he said.

The minister said the government would also explore the option of starting double shifts in schools for full utilisation of the resources.