Latest news with #VivekHighSchool
Hindustan Times
7 days ago
- Business
- Hindustan Times
HC rules 37 private schools in Chandigarh to get full reimbursement for EWS admissions
The Punjab and Haryana high court has ruled that 37 private unaided schools, which have been operational before 1996, are liable to be reimbursed fully by the Chandigarh administration for Economically Weaker Section (EWS) category admissions under the Right to Education (RTE) Act, 2009. The court also held that unaided private schools, opened after a 1996 scheme, can charge a 'nominal fee' from students who were admitted against 15% seats kept reserved under the scheme, which has to be paid by the administration. These schools would also get full reimbursement for the remaining 10% admissions, as applicable under the RTE Act. The court also quashed UT administration's order to derecognise St Kabir Public School and Vivek High School. The single judge bench of justice HS Sethi was hearing petitions from schools which challenged the UT's decision of bringing schools, which have been functioning prior to 1996, under the ambit of a land allotment scheme whereby they had to reserve 15% seats for the EWS category and further get reimbursement for only 10% of students under the RTE Act. There were other several issues raised by these schools in the petitions filed in 2020 through senior advocate Ashish Chopra, Pash Pal Sharma and Swati Dayalan. There are 83 schools operating within Chandigarh. Among these, 50 (37 private unaided non-minority schools and 13 unaided minority schools) were allotted land before 1996, and the remaining 33 schools, inclusive of both unaided minority and private non-minority schools, were allotted land after 1996. 'The scheme 1996 does not operate retrospectively or expressly include the institutions which were already allotted land prior to January 31, 1996. The endeavour of the UT administration to bring all operational schools under the ambit of Clause 18 of the 1996 scheme is not sustainable under law and is incorrect,' the bench observed. The friction between schools and the administration began after the implementation of the RTE Act, which mandated reservation of up to 25% to students in unaided private schools. Thirteen schools had opted for the minority status after 2012 as they were not bound to admit EWS category students. Subsequently, UT challenged the minority status of various schools. Major takeaways All private non-minority schools will be bound to give admission to students belonging to the EWS category to the extent of 25% of total seats. UT will prepare the list of children belonging to the EWS category and send it to schools. Any objection raised by a school regarding the eligibility of any student will be referred back to the administration. UT, after looking into the objection, would make the recommendation. If replacement would be required, a new name would be sent to the school. After this, the school would be bound by such recommendation. Private unaided schools opened prior to 1996 would get reimbursement for 25% admissions. Minority and non-minority schools opened after 1996 are allowed to charge a 'nominal fee' from students admitted against 15% seats reserved under the 1996 scheme in consultation with the government. Within a period of three months of finishing a particular session, the schools will be reimbursed by UT.
Hindustan Times
28-04-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
UT: 6,115 EWS students currently enrolled in Chandigarh's private schools
There are 6,115 students enrolled under the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) and other disadvantaged groups in the 59 private non-minority schools of the city from pre-primary Class 1 up to Class 8 as per the data compiled and issued by the UT education department in a public order. This comes as per the standing order issued earlier this week by UT director school education Harsuhinderpal Singh Brar for EWS admissions on the directions of the Punjab and Haryana high court. While the UT education department has kept records for EWS students admitted in city schools for reimbursement purposes, this is the first time that the data has been tabulated and issued in a public order. Class wise, there were more EWS students in pre-primary classes as compared to higher classes according to the data for the2024-25 session. As many as 761 students were enrolled in pre-primary Class 1 and 681 students in pre-primary Class 2. A drop in numbers is seen from Class 3 with 606 students, to Class 4, which had 557 students. The number is lowest at Class 8, which had 445 students. Pre-primary Class 3, which was officially notified from the 2023-24 session onwards, also had a comparatively lower number of students. While denying that this indicates that the students are dropping out, Brar said, 'We have to take in factors like migration into consideration. Sometimes, students also opt to transfer from private schools to government schools. It would not be wise to say that the students are dropping out or it would reflect as a rise in out of school children in the city. ' For the 2025-26 session for which EWS admissions have already taken place, therewere 850 total seats as per RTE but only 786 seats were verified. As many as 61 seats have been rejected due to various reasons, including submission of improper documents or other cases where students did not qualify for the EWS quota. There are three seats for which admissions are still pending. All three are at Vivek High School. Numbers are further conflated as some schools had only recently started EWS admissions. Vivek High School, Sector 38, only has 22 students in pre-primary Class 1, while St Kabir Public School, Sector 26, only has 20 students in pre-primary Class 2. While the Independent Schools Association (ISA) had said it will file a reply to the standing order, alleging that the department is neglecting its demands, officials confirmed that till now they have not received any complaints from the schools. Montessori admissions not covered under EWS seats While many schools, including Vivek High School, are running a montessori toddlers system for which admissions begin as children turn 18 months old, they are alleging that these are not covered under the EWS seats. The department, however, has now replied that as per National Education Policy, schooling starts from three years of age for children and there will be no reimbursement of any fee for any school model which enrols students below the age of three.
