EWS admission in pvt schools: 3-year residency criteria for migrants quashed

Coming down heavily on the government for "sub-classifying children belonging to weaker sections" on basis of residency, the Delhi High Court has quashed an order that requires migrant parents to stay in the city for three years continuously before their children can be admitted in a private school under the EWS category.

The court noted that the government "cannot issue such instructions, in exercise of the powers conferred upon it" because it went against provisions of the RTE Act.

"The respondent lacks competence to restrict admission in the category of children belonging to weaker sections only to those who have been staying in Delhi for a particular period. As a result of the restrictive definition of... children belonging to weaker sections..., a whole category of children belonging to weaker sections have been excluded from the benefit which the Statute accorded to them, merely because they have not been staying in Delhi for the past three years or more," the order states.

In an affidavit filed before the High Court, the Directorate of Education had said to study in a private unaided school under the EWS category, a migrant child must have stayed in the capital for three years so that his "education or seat does not go to waste".

The affidavit added that children who did not fit the bill were free to go to government schools, which have no such criteria.

The court also rejected the government's claim that it was only trying to "regulate admission in the 25 per cent quota so as to have optimal utilisation of such seats".

"I find no merit in the contention... by requiring residence in Delhi for at least three years, the respondents are certainly... creating two sub-classes of such children, one belonging to those who have been staying in Delhi for more than three years and one for those who have been staying in Delhi for less than three years," the order passed by Justice V K Singh said.

"A child whose parents have a total income of Rs 1,00,000 from all sources, irrespective of the period of his stay in Delhi, shall be deemed to be a child belonging to the weaker section and shall be entitled to be considered for admission in the category of "children belonging to weaker sections," the order said.

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/ews-admission-in-pvt-schools-3year-residency-criteria-for-migrants-quashed/1180595/0

HC notice to Sanskriti school for not admitting two EWS pupils

Press Trust of India / New Delhi September 12, 2012, 21:05

The Delhi High Court today issued notices to the city government and Sanskriti School on a plea of man challenging denial of admission to his two children under the economically weaker section (EWS) quota.

A bench of justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Vipin Sanghi also sought responses of Directorate of Education (DoE) and Land and Development department to the man's plea and slated it for hearing on September 24.

East Delhi resident Anit Kumar Bahuty in his plea said his son Aniket and daughter Sweta have been "illegally" denied admission by Sanskriti school in classes VI and IV respectively in academic year 2012-13.

"The school is situated on a public land allotted by the L&DO against Rs one only as annual rent with the condition that it will provide admission to the children of economically weaker section to the extent of 25% (of its intake capacity) and grant them free-ship.

"Despite the fact that the school in this academic year has taken 8 fresh admissions in both classes IV and VI but no student under EWS category has been admitted which is illegal and in breach of the conditions for land allotment", said Ashok Agarwal, the counsel for Bahuty.

The petition alleged that the decision of the school was in violation of an earlier judgement of the court and the DoE guidelines which provided for admissions of EWS category students to schools, built on subsidised government land.

The school earlier had taken the plea that the vacancies in class IV and VI were filled by the wards of the government servants who came to Delhi on transfer and there was no vacancy under the EWS category.

Parents play safe, opt for schools in NCR/Mad rush for nursery seats begins in NCR

Hindustan Times, 21 Aug 2012

Parents play safe, opt for schools in NCR

Taking a cue from parents whose children had missed out on admission in reputed schools last year, more and more parents have begun looking at options in the National Capital Region (NCR) as a safe bet. With many of these schools coming out with forms this week, many parents are getting ready for a long admission season. In Delhi, the nursery admission season starts in December and goes on till March.
"I am keeping track of admission announcements in all Gurgaon schools. My brother's daughter was not able to get admission in any school in Delhi despite there being five good schools in our neighbourhood. I don't want the same to happen to my daughter. So I am also applying to schools in Gurgaon to raise the chances of her getting admission in a good school," said Shalini De, a housewife from Saket.
But the admission process in the NCR towns, however, is not as simple as it is in Delhi.
With no guidelines, schools employ any method of admission. So while one school may have a lottery system, another may be scheduling interactions with parents, and yet another may be following a self-styled points system.
The age criteria too is not fixed with some schools declaring the minimum age as three and other declaring three-and-half years.
"There is no uniformity in the selection process. For parents, this is a huge problem as parents will have to run around a lot to meet the different sets of requirements of each school. The governments of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana must recognise the need for guidelines and act accordingly," said Sumit Vohra, founder of admissionsnursery.com, a website that guides parents through the admission process.
Despite the lack of clarity, schools in NCR towns continue to be good options for parents in east and south Delhi. "I live in Mehrauli and sending my kid to a school in Gurgaon rather than one in Delhi made much more sense, and I am quite happy with my choice," said Abhinav Makhija, whose son goes to DPS Sushant Lok.
Branches of Delhi Public School, Amity International School and Shiv Nadar School in Noida, Gurgaon and Ghaziabad have already announced the schedule for their admission processes.
While Amity International is selling forms till August 23, Shiv Nadar School has not declared a last date so far. Scottish High International School in Gurgaon will start the registration from Thursday and has declared that the admission will be on a first-come-first-served basis
New Delhi, August 21, 2012

Just half-way through the school year, the admission process for next year has already begun for some.

Sale of forms for admission to nursery classes will start this week in many schools in Gurgaon, Noida and Ghaziabad. DPS Sushant Lok and Vasundhara, Amity International Schools in Noida and Gurgaon, Ardee School Gurgaon and Shiv Nadar School in Noida and Gurgaon are all set to steal a march over their rivals in the Capital, where the process starts only in December.With Delhi schools getting increasingly tough to crack, more and more parents are opting for reputed schools in the NCR where the competition is less fierce.

The NCR has one drawback though — the admission process here isn’t regulated like in Delhi. Therefore, a large number of NCR schools close admissions in October itself while others start the process only in January.

Parents play safe, opt for schools in NCR/Mad rush for nursery seats begins in NCR

Hindustan Times, 21 Aug 2012

Parents play safe, opt for schools in NCR

 

Taking a cue from parents whose children had missed out on admission in reputed schools last year, more and more parents have begun looking at options in the National Capital Region (NCR) as a safe bet. With many of these schools coming out with forms this week, many parents are getting ready for a long admission season. In Delhi, the nursery admission season starts in December and goes on till March.
"I am keeping track of admission announcements in all Gurgaon schools. My brother's daughter was not able to get admission in any school in Delhi despite there being five good schools in our neighbourhood. I don't want the same to happen to my daughter. So I am also applying to schools in Gurgaon to raise the chances of her getting admission in a good school," said Shalini De, a housewife from Saket.
But the admission process in the NCR towns, however, is not as simple as it is in Delhi.
With no guidelines, schools employ any method of admission. So while one school may have a lottery system, another may be scheduling interactions with parents, and yet another may be following a self-styled points system.
The age criteria too is not fixed with some schools declaring the minimum age as three and other declaring three-and-half years.
"There is no uniformity in the selection process. For parents, this is a huge problem as parents will have to run around a lot to meet the different sets of requirements of each school. The governments of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana must recognise the need for guidelines and act accordingly," said Sumit Vohra, founder of admissionsnursery.com, a website that guides parents through the admission process.
Despite the lack of clarity, schools in NCR towns continue to be good options for parents in east and south Delhi. "I live in Mehrauli and sending my kid to a school in Gurgaon rather than one in Delhi made much more sense, and I am quite happy with my choice," said Abhinav Makhija, whose son goes to DPS Sushant Lok.
Branches of Delhi Public School, Amity International School and Shiv Nadar School in Noida, Gurgaon and Ghaziabad have already announced the schedule for their admission processes.
While Amity International is selling forms till August 23, Shiv Nadar School has not declared a last date so far. Scottish High International School in Gurgaon will start the registration from Thursday and has declared that the admission will be on a first-come-first-served basis
New Delhi, August 21, 2012

Just half-way through the school year, the admission process for next year has already begun for some.

Sale of forms for admission to nursery classes will start this week in many schools in Gurgaon, Noida and Ghaziabad. DPS Sushant Lok and Vasundhara, Amity International Schools in Noida and Gurgaon, Ardee School Gurgaon and Shiv Nadar School in Noida and Gurgaon are all set to steal a march over their rivals in the Capital, where the process starts only in December.With Delhi schools getting increasingly tough to crack, more and more parents are opting for reputed schools in the NCR where the competition is less fierce.

The NCR has one drawback though — the admission process here isn’t regulated like in Delhi. Therefore, a large number of NCR schools close admissions in October itself while others start the process only in January.

25% RTE reservation rule sees shoddy performance in schools

Sumita Sarkar, TNN Aug 21, 2012, 03.57AM IST

NASHIK: The state's mandatory rule of 25% admission reservation for economically backward students in schools, under the Right to Education Act (RTE) has failed to garner satisfactory results. Education department officials have claimed that the poor implementation is due to a delay in receiving the notice. According to the Supreme Court's (SC) orders all schools, with the exception of unaided minority institutes, will have to reserve 25% of entry-level school admission seats with free and compulsory education for economically weaker section (EWS) and socially disadvantaged group (SDG) students in the age group of 6-14 years under the RTE Act."We informed the schools in June but none has been able to fill the stipulated target of 25%students," said education officer of the Nashik Municipal Corporation (NMC), Nitin Upasani. "We had advertised the RTE requirement in June in newspapers announcing that the 25% reservation rule was applicable in government, local authority schools and private schools ," said Upasani.He said that parents of students wanting to avail of the reservation were informed to give an application form to the NMC education department and one copy of the application to the school, but the department did not receive any applications. "Six schools in the city have admitted students of economically weaker sections this year," he said.School authorities of St Francis High School said that they have also tried to admit students of economically weaker and socially disadvantages sections even though the rule is not applicable to the school since it is a minority-run school. Father Diego Nunes, principal of Don Bosco School which has admitted the maximum number of EWS students in the city said that though they have not been able to reach the 25% target, they have tried their best."The rule was declared in December and we were notified about implementing it in June. School admissions begin in February-March. Next year, the picture will be better. In December, we will put up an advertisement in the newspapers through the government," said Upasani.

Ninety enthusiastic children from different Bangalore slums take their first step to school under 25% quota

Garima Prasher, TNN | Jun 12, 2012, 06.32AM IST
BANGALORE: Seven-year-old Sadiya Sher in blue skirt and white top stood next to her new school's iron gate. Smiling but shy, Sadiya in her brand new school uniform, tried to hide herself behind her mother. Even though it was her first day at school, Sadiya seemed one of the regular students. 

It was day one of school under the Right To Education ( RTE) on Monday for many from poor families. Around 90 children from different slums located in Fraser Town and DJ Halli area were dropped at different private schools by their parents after their admissions under the 25% quota were confirmed. Schools were apprehensive that these children from EWS might lower their standards. But these kids reached the schools at 7.30 am, an hour before the school bell. 

"My daughter got up at 6 am on her own. She has been very excited about going to school and studying. We got her the uniform, books and stationery, which she packed in her school bag and kept it ready yesterday evening. She wanted to reach school in time," said Reshma Daji, Sadiya's mother and a resident of Ambedkarnagar slum in Fraser town. Sadiya will be studying at Goodwill Public School in Fraser Town. 

It was first day at school for six-year-old Bindu Pushplatha as well, as she sat with her new friends inside her classroom. Within no time, Bindu followed the instructions given by her class teacher to another child and started scribbling in her new notebook. Bindu finished her class work within minutes, leaving the teacher amazed. "I am only six," said Bindu, when the teacher asked her age looking at her neat work. 

While these children sat inside, their parents stood outside the school gate, anxiously awaiting for instructions from the school authorities. "I did not go for work today as I wanted to drop my daughter to school on the first day. Also I wanted to check out the school timings so that she can be picked up daily. Although the school authorities have asked us to take them back at 12.30pm, the school will close at 2.30 pm from day two onwards," said Sayed Ahmed Hose, a parent, waiting outside Goodwill High School. 

The scene was more or less similar at St Aloysius Primary and Middle School and St Rocks Girls High School in the same area. Parents were seen overjoyed as they all came to drop their kids at a school they could have only dreamt about earlier.


http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bangalore/Ninety-enthusiastic-children-from-different-Bangalore-slums-take-their-first-step-to-school-under-25-quota/articleshow/14043857.cms

Application under Right to Information Act.

To:
Transparency Officer & SPIO
DJB, Varunalaya Ph-II,
Jhandewalan, Karol Bagh, 
New Delhi-110005.
Secy.djb@nic.in


Dear Sir,


Subject : Suo Moto Disclosure of information on Water Supply under RTI Act and for proactive section 4 RTI Act information disclosure Application under Right to Information Act. Reduce RTI Applicaiton by sharing SUO MOTO Disclosure u/s 4 of RTI Act 2005.


Ref: DJB Letter No. DJB/Secy/RTI/2011/18478 dated 22/2/2011 


We appreciate that the DJB have improved its Transparency by disclosing many details and put detail on public domain through its website.


We now seek the following information through your website & through reply (preferred electronic):


1. As per available records and reports each areas where DJB supply water through for all areas of Delhi under DJB. This to be disclosed under suo moto disclosure.


a. Under Ground Reservoirs (UGR) (Capacity & Current Distribution Supply)
b. Booster Pumping Stations (BPS) (Capacity & Current Distribution Supply)


The current average demand of potable water in the city is around 1,100 mgd (million gallon per day) and currently DJB supplies around 800 mgd water across the city after raw water is treated at its plants. The demand is projected to touch around 1,400 mgd by end of the 12th Five Year Plan in 2017.


2. Please provide the LPCD (Litres per capita per day) & GPCD (Gallon Per Capita Per Day) for the following areas supplied by DJB:


1 Dilshad Garden 
2 Mayur Vihar 
3 Flag Staff (Vidhan Sabha Sham Nath Marg) 
4 RBI Colony Vasant Vihar 
5 Hauz Khas A Block 
6 Nangloi 
7 Sitapuri (Janakpuri) 


Bulk Water Supply
8 Delhi Cantonment 
9 NDMC Areas 
10 Dwarka Sub-City (Sector 1 to 23) Supplied up to Command Tank by DJB to DDA 


3. As per record Dwarka is 5648 Hector Area 15 Sq. KM. The amount of water supply is 3.5 MGD. While DCB(Delhi Cantonment Board) area is around 42.97 KM NDMC (New Delhi Municipal Corporation) for 42.74s KM. Please provide reason recorded for LOWER GPCD/LPCD for Dwarka Sub-City inspite residents paid due amount to DJB, MCD, DDA, Delhi Govt & Govt of India?.


4. As per information shared by DDA Member and Former Dy. Mayor of Delhi Shri. Rajesh Gahlot, DJB in principal agreed to provide more water to Dwarka from Haiderpur once the Sonia Vihar Plant starts.


a. Please provide all the relevant Minutes of the meeting reference to Haiderpur Plant, Sonia Vihar plant related to supply of Water supply to Dwarka (pages related to the same with date of Meeting).


b. In case as per records the DJB agreed to provide water from Haiderpur and increase supply, please provide name the official who has taken decision to cancel the same or not implimenting.


5. Water Supply to Dwarka Sub-City.


a. In a recent agreement by DJB agreed to provide water supply to D-6 in Vasant Kunj, while existing Dwarka Sub-City have no additional water supplied(3.5 MGD for 6 lakh residents, while current demand is 12 MGD). Please provide name of the officials in DJB in Delhi who have the power/authority to increase drinking water supply (inequitable supply) in line with equal supply to rest of Delhi?


b. Have DJB Board discussed the water supply issue of Dwarka, if so please provide details of the same. In case no discussion, please provide reason recorded in files for not taking up this as an agenda item.


c. Since the DJB is providing only 3.5 MGD water to over 6 Lakh population of Dwarka compel to drink highly Toxicated ground water with TDS level minimum range from 2000. Please provide the name of the officials and DJB board members who deprived the SAFE drinking water supply to Dwarka Sub-City residents , who are law abiding citizen who paid development charges, connection charge, sewage connection charges and all other payments/taxes to DJB/Delhi Govt and MCD/DDA


d. What is the role of Chairman DJB in the decisions of non supply of Safe Drinking Water to Dwarka sub-city & current un equal supply in line with rest of Delhi.


e. What is the role of CEO of DJB in the decisions of non supply of Safe Drinking Water to Dwarka sub-city & current un equal supply in line with rest of Delhi.


6. Status of WTP at Sector 16 B Dwarka Project.
a. As on date progress status % and details.
b. Please provide contract clause with contractor for delay of work. Please provide the copies of the contract portion where DELAY of Work penalty mentioned.
c. As on date number of day's delayed based on set contract work schedule.
d. Based on the number of dates the total amount recovered or posted in account Debit.
e. Name of the officer's in charge of the WTP Project, Designation, Mobile No and Email id.
f. Have the connectivity with WTP and Munak Canal Link work is completed? If not please provide the % of work pending and details of work pending with expected date of completion.
7. What is the methodology followed by DJB to decide about quantum of water supplied to different parts of city?
8. Please advise the area wise distribution loss of water suffered by DJB
9. Are there any new areas/sub city in Delhi under development where DJB has been asked to plan for supply of water and DJB agreed to supply ?


Rejimon C K
President, Dwarka Forum