Delhi HC asks government, CBSE response on 'exclusion' of EWS students by private schools

Delhi High Court on Wednesday asked the Delhi government and CBSE to respond to a plea claiming "commercialisation" and "systemic exclusion" of EWS students from private schools by coercive buying of costly books of private publishers and hefty academia material.

A bench consisting of Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela issued notice during hearing a PIL and asked the Delhi government, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) to file the replies within a period of four weeks and posted the plea for Nov 12.

The petitioner Jasmit Singh Sahni is said to be an education policy researcher and social activist engaged in the sphere of educational equity and rights-based access to quality schooling in India.

According to Sahni, EWS or disadvantaged group students chosen under the RTE Act were either denied the advantage of admission or compelled to drop out because of the unaffordable private publisher books and school kits.

The petitioner, represented by lawyers Amit Prasad and Satyam Singh, averred that despite persistent policy interventions on the part of the Ministry of Education and CBSE, private schools are still ordering unregulated private publisher books worth up to Rs 12,000 a year, even where NCERT books are priced below Rs 700.

"This ubiquitous practice not just disobeys CBSE affiliation bye-laws and RTE Rules but is also denying admission to children who are admitted under Section 12(1)(c) of the RTE Act and cannot afford these text books, thus negating the very purpose of inclusive education," the plea added.

The Delhi government offers only Rs 5,000 yearly reimbursement, the plea averred, creating a chasm that compels EWS families to withdraw admissions that defies the 25 percent reservation requirement for disadvantaged children.

The plea averred despite the circulars issued by CBSE during 2016-2017 requiring the compulsory use of NCERT books, private schools were prescribing costly private publisher books.