Orphaned children being denied free education: NGO

Updated on: Tuesday, January 17, 2012

With nursery admissions going on in the city, an NGO has written to Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit drawing her attention to orphaned children allegedly being denied benefit of free education in private schools due to their non-inclusion in the "Disadvanated Group" category.

As per the guidelines issued by Directorate of Education (DoE) Delhi, private schools have to keep aside 25 per cent of their seats for students belonging to the Disadvantaged Group and the Economic Weaker Section (EWS) of the society.

Taking up the issue, the NGO, Social Jurist, has now requested the government to consider including orphaned children in this category so that they can also get benefit of admission and free education in unaided private schools.

"You are well aware of the fact that there are thousands of orphan children in our national capital city of Delhi who are sheltered in various government and non-government run homes. No body can dispute that these children are the most 'disadvantaged children' who need all round attention from both the State and the Society.

The Directorate of Education, Government of NCT of Delhi in its notification specified 'child with special needs and suffering from disabilities as defined in Persons with Disabilities Act, 1995' as child belonging to Disadvantaged Group within the meaning of Section 2 (d) of the RTE Act, 2009.

However, the Orphan Children were left out, may be, due to oversight," said the NGO in its letter to the Chief Minister.

"In the existing provisions of RTE Act, 2009 in regard to Delhi, an orphan child neither falls in 'child belonging to disadvantaged group' nor in 'child belonging to economically weaker section'," the NGO said in its letter to Dikshit.

"It is really not only unfortunate but also hit by the provisions of Article 14 (right to equality), Article 21 (right to life with dignity), Article 21-A (right to education) and Article 38 (right to social justice) of the Constitution of India read with the provisions of RTE Act, 2009. Who can be more disadvantaged than that of an Orphan Child?," it asked.

The Directorate of Education ought to have also specified by notification that orphaned children belong to Disadvantaged Group within the meaning of Section 2 (d) of the RTE Act so that such children could also get benefit of admission and free education in unaided private schools in the 25 per cent reserved category, the letter stated.

Ashok Agarwal, who has written the letter on behalf of the NGO, also cited a Government of India notification, published in the Gazetteer of India on July 29, 2011, which has specified "Orphan Chidren" as those belonging to disadvantaged group in terms of Section 2 (d) of the RTE Act, 2009 for Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

"In order to ensure that 'Orphan children" should take benefit of the RTE Act, 2009 in the academic year 2012-13, the Government of of Delhi have to promptly bring by Notification 'Orphan Child' as child belonging to Disadvantaged Group within the meaning of Section 2 (d) of the RTE Act, 2009," Agarwal noted, requesting the Chief Minister to "immediately intervene" in this matter.

Orphaned children being denied free education: NGO

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