20 minority schools exempted from centralised EWS online admission

Chandigarh, January 2

Twenty minority schools in the city would be exempted from participation in the online centralised economically weaker sections (EWS) and disadvantaged groups admission process of the UT Education Department. These schools would not be on the department’s portal and have their own admission schedule.

What Right to Education states

According to the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, non-minority recognised unaided private schools in the UT must allocate 25 per cent of the seats for the EWS/disadvantaged groups.

Last year, the UT Education Department introduced a portal for the centralised EWS admissions in private schools, aiming for transparency. However, some schools resisted joining the online portal citing their minority obligations. These schools prefer to admit EWS students exclusively from the minority community while avoiding the centralised online system.

Last year, these minority schools were given show-cause notices for not opting for the centralised EWS admissions. Out of the 20 minority schools in the city, only 10 currently adhere to the Administration rules by providing admission to 15 per cent EWS students.

In contrast, under the Capital of Punjab (Development & Regulation) Act, 1952, minority-recognised unaided private schools are mandated to offer a minimum of 15 per cent of EWS/disadvantaged group seats. As per the data, there are 1,825 seats for entry-level classes in 20 minority schools and 275 (15 per cent of the total seats) are reserved for the EWS students and the remaining 1,550 seats are for the open category.

The Education Department announced commencement of the online admission for the EWS and disadvantaged group from January 9 in non-minority schools recently.