Delhi HC seeks responses on plea over 'systemic exclusion' of EWS students by private schools

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday sought responses from the Delhi government and CBSE on a plea alleging "commercialisation" and "systemic exclusion" of EWS students from private schools through forced purchase of expensive books of private publishers and exorbitantly priced academia materials.

A bench of Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela issued notice while hearing a PIL and directed the Delhi government, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and the National Council of Educational Research and Training ( NCERT ) to file the replies within four weeks and posted the plea for November 12.

Jasmit Singh Sahni, the petitioner, claims to be an education policy researcher and social activist working in the field of educational equity and rights-based access to quality schooling across India. Sahni said EWS or disadvantaged group students selected under the RTE Act were either being denied the benefit of admission or forced to withdraw due to the unaffordable cost of private publisher books and school kits .

The petitioner, represented through advocates Amit Prasad and Satyam Singh, said despite repeated policy interventions by the Ministry of Education and CBSE, private schools continue to prescribe unregulated private publisher books costing up to Rs 12,000 annually, even when NCERT books are available for under Rs 700.

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School Bag Policy 2020

"This widespread practice not only violates CBSE affiliation bye-laws and RTE Rules but also excludes children admitted under Section 12(1)(c) of the RTE Act who cannot afford these materials, thereby defeating the very objective of inclusive education," the plea said.

The Delhi government provides only Rs 5,000 annual reimbursement, the plea said, creating an unbridgeable gap that forces EWS families to withdraw admissions which defeats the 25 per cent reservation mandate for disadvantaged children.

The plea said despite CBSE circulars issued in 2016-2017 mandating the exclusive use of NCERT books, private schools were prescribing expensive private publisher books. "Excessive books violate the School Bag Policy 2020, which caps bag weight at 10 percent of child's body weight. Students carry 6-8 kg bags, causing musculoskeletal damage and psychological stress RTI Revelations," it added.

Seeking court's urgent intervention, the plea argued the statutory 25 per cent quota would remain unfilled or get converted into general category seats, causing irreparable harm to disadvantaged children and defeating the very object of the Right To Education (RTE) Act.