Monday, May 16, 2011

Poor response to EWS scheme, only 608 admissions

New Delhi: Even though the last date for admission has been extended 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.

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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