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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Steep Charges for Uniform, Books, Meals Make 'Free Education' For Delhi's Poor a Farce -Shruti Jain

Steep Charges for Uniform, Books, Meals Make 'Free Education' For Delhi's Poor a Farce -Shruti Jain

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published Published on Apr 15, 2017   modified Modified on Apr 15, 2017
-TheWire.in

Private schools are flouting guidelines and charging students from economically weak families for books, uniforms and mid-day meals.

New Delhi:
A March 21 circular by the Delhi Directorate of Education (DelE) strictly instructed private unaided recognised schools in the city to provide free books and uniforms to EWS/DG (economically weaker section/disadvantaged group) category students who were selected through a computerised draw for the session 2017-18. However, certain private schools have violated the key guidelines.

Students seeking admission under the EWS category are being forced to pay for books, uniforms and mid-day meals. The amount varies from school to school, decided autonomously by the individual school heads. Distorting the welfare scheme, private schools are asking the parents of EWS children to pay an annual mid-day meal charge – varying between Rs 12,000 and Rs 15,600 – if they want their children to receive the meal that other general category students have subscribed to.

G.D. Goenka Public School in Dwarka has asked the parents to deposit Rs 12,000 as an annual mid-day meal charge, which is optional for EWS students from nursery to class two. No concession is given to the EWS category students in the mid-day meal charges and the amount is the same as what a general category student pays. Similarly, Queen’s Valley Junior School, Dwarka, has also charged Rs 15,600 for mid-day meals, and a separate compulsory charge for books and uniforms (approximately Rs 5,000) has been demanded from students under the EWS category.

“When we went to the school (G.D. Goenka Public School, Dwarka) for the verification of documents on March 27, they verified our documents and asked us to carry a cheque book in the next meeting for the final admission. They made it clear that only tuition fee will be exempted, all the other charges that a general category student pays in the school will be charged from us too. They also mentioned the charges that will be taken for picnics, skating and other events organised by the school from time to time. We are not capable of handling such expenses so we are reconsidering whether to admit him there or not,” said a parent who came to seek the admission of his son under the EWS category in the school.

Some parents are willing to pay the amount demanded if it ensures equality among the students in the same class. “Our child should receive the same meal as offered to other students in the class. We don’t want our child to feel inferior in front of the general category students in the class. Therefore, we are ready to pay the amount,” said Satish, whose child falls under the EWS category.

However, no receipts are being provided for the mid-day meal charges being paid by EWS parents. “I’ve deposited Rs 15,600 in cash as charge for the annual mid-day meal,” said the parent of a Queen’s Valley Junior School student.

The food menu of the mid-day meals in private schools includes pasta, vegetable noodles, veg manchurian, green salad with tofu, and other dishes that children find appealing. “Our daughter has stopped eating home-cooked food. It gets really difficult to make her eat simple dal and roti which is mostly cooked at home,” said Umed, who got his daughter enrolled in a private school last year.

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TheWire.in, 12 April, 2017, https://thewire.in/123463/schools-education-ews-delhi/


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