Law says no to raising MPs' quota in Kendriya Vidyalaya admissions

Updated on: Monday, July 18, 2011

In a move that would disappoint nearly 800 MPs, the law ministry has rejected the proposal to increase the Kendriya Vidyalaya admission quota for Members of Parliament from two to five -- three for the KV schools in the MP's constitutency and two for KVs in Delhi.

The proposal also said that in case there is no KV in the constituency of an MP, she can recommend three admissions in a KV in a contiguous constituency and the rest two in KVs of Delhi.

While rejecting the proposal of HRD ministry, the department of legal affairs said increasing the MPs' quota is not in proportion to the increase in the number of Kendriya Vidyalayas that had gone up to 1,085 now from 871 in 2000.

Law ministry pointed out that the proposal is not in conformity with the Delhi High Court order of November 17, 1998. The HC had said that the special dispensation given to MPs "can be true to the constituency which the MP represents". "Allowing the privilege of two admissions anywhere in the country without regard to the factor of the constituency represented by the MP becomes a largesse. The privilege of special dispensation admission conferred on a MP must therefore be related to the constituency of the concerning MP," the HC had said.

In its proposal, HRD ministry had argued that 145 MPs of Lok Sabha do not get the opportunity of making recommendations as there is no KV in their constituency. It had also reasoned that the limit of two recommendations every year was "inadequate" as more and more children seek admission in KVs because of the quality education they provide at nominal fee. Justifying the move to let MPs recommend two children for KVs in Delhi, HRD had said many MPs after getting elected stay for a long period in the Capital. In Delhi, HRD said, MPs are approached by people seeking help for admission. "They (MPs) can come across such cases where a child deserves admission in a KV located in Delhi but cannot get it unless allowed by way of special dispensation," HRD had said.

HRD had also said that increasing the quota for MPs to five would not lead to dilution of academic standards. Ministry said that since the HRD minister Kapil Sibal abolished his personal quota of 1,200 seats last year the pressure on KVs has come down considerably. The additional admission, due to increase in quota, would be around 2,400 per academic year. HRD had also said that the quota would not have an adverse impact on 25% reservation under the Right to Education Act.

Times of India

Law says no to raising MPs' quota in Kendriya Vidyalaya admissions

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