Question : ADMISSION OF BPL CHILDREN IN PRIVATE SCHOOLS

(a) whether as per the Right to Education (RTE) Act, 2009 guidelines, it is mandatory for unaided private schools to reserve 25% seats for Economically Weaker Sections and if so, the details thereof;

(b) whether the High Court of Delhi has given any direction in this regard and if so, the details thereof;

(c) the total number of students that benefited from this provision so far, State-wise and year-wise;

(d) whether various reputed schools of the country and also the capital have not implemented the said RTE guidelines;

(e) if so, the details of such schools and the action taken against them;

(f) the methodology with the Government to check such malpractices by the schools; and

(g) the steps taken by the Government to spread the awareness of this provision amongst the poor people for effective implementation of this provision?

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT (Dr. D. PURANDESWARI)

(a): Section 12(1) (c) of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act provides that a specified category school and an unaided private school shall admit in class I, to the extent of twenty -five per cent of the strength of that class, children belonging to weaker section and disadvantaged group in the neighbourhood and provide free and compulsory elementary education till its completion.

(b): The Government of NCT has informed that a Writ Petition No. 8434 /2011 in the case of Social Jurist Vs. Government of NCT of Delhi has been filed in the Delhi High Court regarding admission to 25% of children belonging to disadvantaged group and weaker section in schools. The Hon’ble High Court vide its order dated 29th February, 2012 has directed the Delhi Government to provide complete information about schools not giving admission against Economically weaker section seats and action taken against such schools. The next date of hearing has been fixed for 18th April, 2012.

(c) to (e): It is the responsibility of the State Governments to monitor the implementation of the provisions of section 12(1)(c) of the RTE Act by schools. Information regarding the number of children admitted in the various unaided schools of the country in pursuance of section 12(1)(c) of the RTE Act is not centrally maintained. Many unaided private schools across the country have filed several Writ Petitions before the Hon’ble Supreme Court challenging various provisions of the RTE Act, including Section 12(1)(c). The cases have been heard by the Hon’ble Supreme Court and the judgement is reserved.

(f): The RTE Act provides for monitoring of child’s rights under the Act by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) and the State Commissions for the Protection of Child Rights (SCPCRs) and for redressal of grievances by the local authorities.

(g): The Government has launched a year-long nation-wide campaign titled ‘Shiksha Ka Haq Abhiyan’ on 11th November, 2011 at Nuh, Mewat District, Haryana for community mobilization and public awareness of the provisions of the RTE Act. The campaign includes school level interactions with children, teachers and community members, as well as media and communication effort, comprising short TV/radio jingles and newspaper based campaigns.