Chandigarh: Education Department warns of action against minority schools

Naina Mishra

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Chandigarh, March 11

The Education Department has warned of legal action against private schools with the minority status that are not admitting children from economically weaker section (EWS) under the land allotment scheme of the UT.

The UT’s scheme mandates that the minority status schools are required to reserve 15 per cent seats for the EWS category. According to information available with the Education Department, only three minority schools, out of a total of 20, have admitted EWS students as per the provisions of land allotment.

The department, while writing to all private schools today, stated, “It is clear that private recognised schools, including minority schools, have to admit 15% EWS children from entry level to class XII as per the land allotment policy. The Education Department has time and again requested to admit the children under the EWS quota.”

“It has come to the notice of the department that some of the schools are not implementing the provisions of the UT Land Allotment Scheme. Therefore, before initiating or taking any legal action against defaulting schools, information related to

EWS student intake is sought from the schools for the years 2018-19, 2019-20, 2020-21,” the department further said.

Meanwhile, sources said the department was also planning to write to the Estate Office against the schools who are not fulfilling their duty of admitting EWS students as per the clause.

Educational Institutions were allotted land by the Estate Officer, Chandigarh, on concessional rates, fixed by the Finance Department in 1996 and under Para 18 notified the provisions of reservation of 15% seats for economically weaker section. Chandigarh had also issued a clarification in 2016 that 15% seats to EWS students shall be applicable to all schools who were allotted land by the Chandigarh Administration.

The department has given a week’s time to private schools to provide the details of EWS students admitted from entry class to Class XII, failing which the department will initiate action against the schools.