EWS admissions: Punjab govt, private schools slammed for ignoring RTE Act
The Punjab government and private unaided recognised schools drew flak from social activists and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) on Tuesday for their 'lack of interest' in admitting children from economically weaker sections, as mandated by the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009, despite a directive from the high court.
Addressing a press conference here, several social activists and representatives of the 'Action Committee for RTE Act-2009 in Punjab' said that the state government and its officials were not serious about implementation the provisions of the RTE Act. They pointed out that no EWS admissions had been carried out in most districts, even two months after the court order. 'When parents of children from EWS families, social activists and various organisations approach private schools, the school authorities claim they have not received any instructions and feign ignorance about the procedure. There is also no clarity on whether it is the responsibility of the schools or the district authorities to admit the children. The situation is totally confusion,' said social activist Onkar Nath, a retired bureaucrat.
Nath, who was among the petitioners in the case, stated that in Delhi and Chandigarh, the school education departments had set up their portals, invited applications from underprivileged children, and ensured their admissions un private unaided recognised schools through a transparent process.
'The Punjab government has neither created awareness nor issued any guidelines regarding the procedure to be adopted for the implementation of section 12(1)(c) of the Right to Education Act. There is no application form, no guidelines regarding income limits, no monitoring cell, etc. We submitted a list of 22 EWS children to the school education department who were refused admission by private schools in writing,' he claimed, putting the total number of such schools at 9,500.
Fatehjang Singh, Taranjeet Singh, Kirpal Singh, Sarabjit Singh and Sanyogita, Didar Singh and other members of the 'Action Committee for RTE Act-2009 in Punjab' and representatives of the Krantikari Lok Chetna Manch were also present. They warned that if steps were not taken immediately to implement the RTE provisions, the action committee would organise a statewide protest and even file a petition in the court for contempt of court.
The RTE Act mandated unaided private schools to admit in Class 1 children from weaker sections and disadvantaged groups in the neighbourhood to the extent of 25% of the strength of that class and provide free and compulsory elementary education till its completion. However, the state government framed its own rules in 2011 and virtually nullified the provision. The Punjab and Haryana high court had, in its February 19 order, directed all the private unaided recognised schools in Punjab to reserve 25% of their Class 1 seats for children from weaker and disadvantaged sections in the state. The state government was ordered to ensure strict enforcement of the ruling in the 2025-26 academic session.
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