The Hindu : Parents to have choice of more schools

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jan 20, 2004

New Delhi

New Delhi

Parents to have choice of more schools

By Sujay Mehdudia

NEW DELHI, JAN.19. In order to deal with the persistent problem of acute shortage of good Government schools and to put an end to the lottery system for admission of tiny tots, the Sheila Dikshit Government has decided to open new Pratibha Vikas Vidyalayas and Sarvodya Vikas Vidyalayas from the next academic session. This far reaching decision will put an end to the five-year-old ban on opening of such meritorious and model schools that have earned the distinction of being at par with the public schools.

Talking to The Hindu, the Chief Minister, Sheila Dikshit, said this would lead to the creation of around 20,000 additional seats in these schools and ease the situation on the admission front. The Pratibha and Sarvodaya series of schools are prestigious Governments institutions that have facilities and teaching faculty at par with the public schools in the Capital. The Delhi Government, due to scarcity of land, had not been able to open such schools in various parts of the Capital since 1998. Ms. Dikshit said that the Government would open 11 new Pratibha Vikas Vidyalayas and 22 Sarvodaya Vikas Vidyalayas from the next academic session. Ms. Dikshit said all efforts were being made to open new schools that have all the facilities including proper educational infrastructure in place before teaching begins there.

The Education Minister, Arvinder Singh Lovely, said with the opening of these new institutions, the system of admission by lottery would take a backseat for admission into primary school classes. At present, due to paucity of seats and space, schools have taken up the lottery system whereas children are admitted on the basis of lottery in order to prevent any kind of dispute. This leaves a lot of people disgruntled and the opening of new premium schools would go a long way in dealing with the scarcity of seats. Mr. Lovely said this was also aimed at attracting more children to schools and that was the reason these new institutions would be opened in different parts of the Capital. As primary education is looked after by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, the Sarvodya Vikas Vidyalaya would fill this gap also and admit students from Class I to XII.

Ms. Dikshit said if there was any scarcity of land for starting such schools, the Government could upgrade some of the present ordinary schools into Pratibha Vikas Vidyalayas or Sarvodaya Vikas Vidyalayas and throw them open to meritorious students. These schools would have standardised facilities including updated laboratories. Ms. Dikshit said she had also drawn up a plan to open a "model school'' for ordinary students that would also have hostel facilities. She said she had been offered land in the Qutab Institutional Area for such a school but was not satisfied with the quantum of land and was looking for a larger chunk in some other area, possibly East Delhi.

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