thrice already, the scheme in schools in Delhi that had been started
for giving admission to children from Economically Weaker Sections
(EWS) has received only an unenthusiastic response from takers.
The EWS scheme involved private schools recognized by the Municipal
Corporation of Delhi (MCD) to reserve 25% of the seats for children
from EWS family backgrounds.
It had been expected by the civic agency that the scheme will receive
a good response and that at least 10,000 students will be admitted
under it. However, this year, only 608 students in the capital have
sought admission under the EWS category.
According to sources, the civic agency is again planning to extend the
date as the 25% criteria for EWS has not been met in most schools.
Chairman of MCD's education committee Mahender Nagpal said that it was
shocking that the scheme garnered such a weak response. "We hadn't
expected such a poor response from the school. Even though we had
extended the last date for admission thrice, the response still has
turned out to be poor.
MCD officials blamed the schools for the poor response to the EWS
scheme, alleging that most schools were apprehensive about giving
admission to students belonging to economically weaker sections of the
society.
An MCD official said that most private schools had not advertised the
EWS scheme properly and a majority of parents were not aware that this
quota was available in schools.
"The parents not knowing about the scheme has turned out to be a major
hindrance for parents to get their child admitted under the scheme,"
he stated.
This was the first time after the implementation of the Right To
Education Act last year that the MCD introduced the 25% EWS quota in
schools recognized by it.
According to data that was released by the MCD, the highest number of
admissions under the EWS quota were reported from the west zone (172)
followed by Narela with 137 admissions.
The poorest response was from the Sadar Paharganj area with only 5
students seeking admission under the EWS scheme there. An MCD official
said that this figure was surprising as the area had a large number of
people who belonged to economically weaker sections.
Mahender Nagpal said that the only cause for the poor response was the
lack of information on the part of the government of Delhi. He stated
that most schools were not clear about the funding procedure for EWS
students and the documents required during the admissions.
He said that the Delhi government had not provided any information
regarding the funds that will be provided to schools for covering the
cost of the EWS students. Also, most parents were unable to produce
documents such as residential proof, ration card and BPL (Below
Poverty Line) certificate at the time of the admission.
The Delhi government had not given any clarity on the issue of funds.
Not only this, most parents could not furnish documents like
residential proof, ration card and BPL certificate at the time of
admission, added Nagpal.
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