The Hindu : New Delhi News : `Work out a formula to ensure education for poor'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, May 11, 2007
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New Delhi

`Work out a formula to ensure education for poor'

Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Thursday asked the Delhi Government's Directorate of Education (DoE) to suggest a mechanism for ensuring free education to children belonging to the poor sections of society.

A Bench comprising Justice T. S. Thakur and Justice S. N. Aggarwal told the DoE to work out a solution in consultation with private schools which obtain public land at concessional rates on the promise that they would provide free education to poor students. The Court has asked the DoE to inform it about the mechanism on Monday.

The Court also suggested that the parties concerned could adopt the formula of reserving 15 per cent of the total seats for poor children and try it out for one year on an experimental basis. Of this, 10 per cent could be for the poor children and the remaining 5 per cent for the wards of the school employees.

On April 16, the Court had come down heavily on the DoE for failing to take action against over 200 erring private schools in the Capital who were not providing free education to the poor despite having received land at concessional rates from government agencies. These schools had got land from various civic authorities, including the DDA, at throwaway prices. Earlier, the DoE counsel informed the Bench that it had sent show-cause notices to erring schools asking them to explain why they should not be de-recognised for non-compliance of the mandatory clause pertaining to free tuition.

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