The Basic Shiksha Adhikari of Lucknow has ordered admission of a number of children from disadvantaged groups and weaker sections under the section 12(1)(c) of the Right to Education Act, 2009 in many un-aided (read private) schools. However the district administration or the state government are unable to get children admitted in City Montessori School, Navyug Radiance Senior Secondary School, City International School, Virendra Swaroop Public School, Saint Mary Convent, Saint Mary Inter College and Delhi Public School. In addition Exxon Montessori School in discriminating against the children who have been admitted under this Act. The biggest culprit is CMS which is resisting the admissions during second consecutive year. Its manager Jagdish Gandhi who was unable to prevent High Court from ordering admission of 13 such children in his school last year in spite of a legal battle that he fought against the order of BSA, is opposing the admissions of 58 children again this year. The state government is unable to force Jagdish Gandhi to admit the children and hence has proved to be ineffective. Jagdish Gandhi talks of world unity and uses the names and photos of Mahatama Gandhi and Vinoba Bhave on his school buses but has proved to be actually anti-poor. There is an on-line signature campaign going on addressed to the U.P. government to take back the Yash Bharti award given to him. There is also another on-line campaign addressed to United Nations Secretary General to take back the Peace Prize given to him by UNESCO for promoting values of peace and tolerance in education.
Bhartiya Janata Party leader Sudhir Halwasiya has also refused to admit 22 children in his Navyug Radiance School. He expelled two children – Pakhi Rajput and Asna Farhad – whom he had earlier admitted. Similarly, Virendra Swaroop School expelled Shaan Mohammed and Mohammed Zaid after giving them admission. Socialist Party (India) has written a letter to Minister, Humar Resources Development, Prakash Javdekar to recommend expulsion of Halwasiya from BJP for not complying with the national Act. There is on-line signature campaign addressed to BJP President requesting him to expel Halwasiya from the party.
Jagdish Gandhi’s daughter Sunita Gandhi is also not willing to admit 9 children in her school City International. Saint Mary Convent, Janakipuram and Saint Mary Inter College, Matiyari are not willing to admit 6 and 5 children, respectively. Delhi Public School in Indira Nagar is not admitting two children.
Exxon Montessori School has admitted 8 students but is making them sit separately, thus subjecting them to discrimination, which is against the law.
The State Commission for Protection of Child Rights of the U.P. Government has put up billboards making an appeal to people to free child labour and put them into school so that they get back their childhood. Now, if one were to actually free a child labour where would one take the child? The school where the government may want the child to study may not admit the child. The U.P. Government is thus making a mockery of underprivileged children leaving their future uncertain. Akhilesh Yadav is a smaller version of Narenda Modi who heavily relies on his publicity, even for the work that he has not done or cannot do.
The U.P. Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav considers admissions under section 12(1)(c) in U.P. as his achievement. If all the unaided schools of U.P. were to offer at least 25% of their seats in preliminary classes to children from disadvantaged groups and weaker sections then about 6,37,150 children would be able to study for free. Compared to this only about 15,000 admissions have been ordered by the BSAs of different districts all over U.P. Given the experience in Lucknow the actual figure of admissions secured would be much lower. Hence only about 2% admissions have taken place in U.P., of the possible 25%. If the CM considers this as his achievement then we can only pity him.
If Akhilesh Yadav cannot get a simple task as getting some children admitted to adamant private schools, then how will he be able to accomplish more difficult things like freeing up encroached lands or maintaining law and order. U.P. has probably not seen a weaker CM than this who is afraid of acting against some influential and moneyed private school owners.
The new Lucknow District Magistrate Satyendra Singh runs his own private school New Millenium. When the DM himself has a vested interest is protecting private schools how may we expect him to work for compliance of his own order under the RTE Act and ensure admission of children from disadvantaged groups and weaker sections in elite schools of the city? The time for admissions is almost over in the ongoing academic year. Is the DM not interested in seeing the children of rich and poor study together, the main objective of the Act? He did not clear the applications of close to couple of hundred children whose admissions were approved by the BSA and Chief Development Officer for over a month for no apparent reason. This is not just sheer negligence of duty but also a violation of the right of children under the Act.
All the above mentioned schools are guilty of violation of the RTE Act. Why are the hands of administration and government tied? Would they have taken things so casually if these children belonged to the rich class or were their own children?
The No Objection Certificate given by the district administration in order for these schools to obtain recognition from some boards could be withdrawn for the schools which are not complying with the RTE Act. Otherwise the schools should be nationalised. The first step in this direction would be to implement the High Court order of Justice Sudhir Agarwal making it compulsory for people receiving government salaries to send their children to government schools. Only when the 1968 recommendation of Kothari Commission in favour of Common Schools Systems is implemented do all the children stand a chance to get equitable quality of education.
By Sandeep Pandey
Vice President, Socialist Party (India)
Lohia Mazdoor Bhawan, 41/557 Tufail Ahmed Marg, Narhi, Lucknow-226001
Ph: 0522 2286423, Mobile: 9415269790 (Praveen Srivastava)
e-mail: ashaashram@yahoo.com
