Delhi LG advises CM to revise income limit for EWS admissions in private schools to Rs 5 lakh

NEW DELHI: Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena has strongly recommended to the AAP government in Delhi to raise the income limit for EWS category admissions in the private schools from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 5 lakh in view of vacant seats and higher minimum wages, officials said on Wednesday.

Ideally the income limit should be Rs 8 lakh since the students benefitting at the primary and secondary levels are the ones who go ahead to avail higher education, he noted in a file related to a Delhi High Court matter concerning income limit.

The lieutenant governor said his view was that the threshold limit for admissions to EWS seats in the private schools should be in line with the threshold limit of Rs 8 lakh applicable in case of EWS admissions in higher education institutions or at least Rs 5 lakh as indicated by the High Court.

Under the Right To Education (RTE) Act, 2009, 25 per cent seats in private unaided schools are reserved for the students belonging to the economically weaker section (EWS). The lieutenant governor noted that as per the minimum wages notified by the Delhi government, the annual income of skilled workers (Rs 21,917X12= Rs 2.63 lakh) is more than the proposed threshold limit of Rs 2.5 lakh .

He cited that as per available data, on an average around 11 per cent of the reserved seats for EWS category in the private schools have remained vacant in Delhi in the last three academic session.

"These unfilled seats clearly indicate policy failure on part of the Delhi government by keeping the threshold limit of annual income unrealistic and with restricted coverage," he said.

Delhi EWS admission

In view the fact that the threshold limit of Rs 1 lakh annual income for 'child belonging to weaker section" defined by the Delhi government does not precisely reflect the economic hardship faced by the families, he said. Even the Delhi High Court in its order order on December 5, 2023 observed that the threshold limit should change with the dynamism of the economic structure of the society, he pointed in his file noting.

Keeping the threshold limit of admissions schools "unrealistically low" as compared to limit in higher education institutions not only deprives the vulnerable section of the society but also violates the principle of equity in securing the benefits of the legislation, Saxena stated.

"The chief minister is strongly advised to re-visit the threshold limit for admission in private unaided recognized schools of Delhi in the interest of the larger vulnerable group of economically weaker sections of Delhi and raise the income limit to at least Rs 5 lakh," he said in his note. He asked the government to put his stand on the records of the court as it has initiated contempt proceedings in the matter.