Admissions under the Right to Education (RTE) Act’s 25 per cent reservation in self-financed schools for economically weaker section (EWS) and disadvantaged groups (DGs) are apparently being denied in Punjab.
The Leader of Opposition and AamAadmi Party (AAP) leader, Sukhpal Singh Khaira on Tuesday said EWS and DGs are being denied the right to get 25 per cent seats in private schools under the RTE Act by using a provision for the no-objection certificate (NOC) by the nearby government schools.
“For getting an admission in private schools, a NOC is required by the nearby government school that no seat is vacant. But as government schools hardly have fixed number of seats and most of them have dearth of students, such a NOC is never given to parents belonging to the EWS or DGs. In past eight years, not a single admission has been given in state’s private schools under the RTE Act’s quota for EWS and DGs,” Khaira said.
He said the provision for the NOC was made by the previous Parkash Singh Badal government by making an amendment in the RTE Act. “This is despite the fact that school fees of EWS and DGs in private schools were to be paid by the Centre government. The Punjab government is not required to spend a penny for this,” AAP leader said.
He said poor students should not be denied the right to get admission in private schools. “When a parent approaches a government school for NOC, the headmaster doesn’t give the certificate as there are always enough seats. To the most, a school in-charge sends parents to a block education officer who too doesn’t give the NOC,” Khaira said. The AAP leader said his party will raise this issue in the coming budget session of the Assembly.