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Child rights body to list schools denying entry to EWS students
The move comes after the child rights’ body received multiple complaints from parents whose wards qualify for the EWS/DG category, saying several private schools are not enrolling their children, even after their names appeared in the selected lists.
The Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR) has started a drive to identify the private schools that are denying admission to students in entry-level classes — nursery, KG and class 1, under the 25% Economically Weaker Section (EWS) and disadvantaged group (DG) quota mandated by the Right to Education (RTE) Act.
The move comes after the child rights’ body received multiple complaints from parents whose wards qualify for the EWS/DG category, saying several private schools are not enrolling their children, even after their names appeared in the selected lists. The admissions for students under the EWS/DG quota in private schools are still in process for the new academic session, which started on April 1.
Anurag Kundu, a DCPCR member, said, “We have received several complaints from parents against some schools denying admission to EWS/DG students. We are identifying the schools that have either not enrolled any or have taken less than 10% EWS/DG students against the available seats.”
According to another DCPCR official, who requested anonymity, the commission has identified some schools where not even a single EWS/DG student has been enrolled in the ongoing session. “We have visited some of these schools and the common reason they cite is that their general seats were not filled yet. Schools take EWS/DG students in a 3:1 ratio in entry-level classes. However, we have found that some schools are not giving admissions to students under EWS/DG quota even after they enrolling students under the general category,” the member said.
The DCPCR had, last year, issued a list of 74 private schools which did not admit even a single student under the EWS category in the last two academic sessions. “We will release a similar list soon this year as well,” Kundu said.
Parents said they are uncertain of the future of their wards in the current scenario. “My 4-year-old was assigned a private school in Vasant Kunj in the draw of lots in February. The school is not even allowing us to enter the campus. They say we will get a call whenever there is a vacancy. We don’t know what to do,” Vipin Singh, a parent, said.
Ekramul Haque of the NGO Mission Taleem said he has forwarded multiple complaints to the DCPCR and the Directorate of Education (DoE) against schools denying admission to students under the EWS/DG categories.
The DoE has extended the date of EWS/DG admission under the 25% quota twice in the last three weeks. The admission process, which was supposed to wrap up by March 31, will now conclude on April 30.
A senior DoE official said the department is taking all measures to ensure students who were named in the selected list get admission. “Of the 42,600 EWS/DG students who were allotted seats in private schools in the first draw of lots, more than 50% have already got admission. We have extended the dates to give more time to schools to complete as many admissions as possible in the first list. We will also come up with a second list for the remaining students,” the official said.
