Private schools let off Right to Education hook

As far as the city schools are concerned the Directorate of Education (DoE) came up with guidelines for nursery admissions like last year - private Schools can frame their own rules and decide the criteria for enrolment.

Except parents' income and qualifications, private schools can take all other criteria into consideration like distance of student's residence from school, single parents or son and daughters of alumni.Further, schools are permitted to decide what number of points should be allotted to which category. However, the schools have to give application forms, free of cost to Economically Weaker Section (EWS) students. Besides, no school can refuse admission to EWS category on the basis of neighbourhood or distance so long that child is residing within the area prescribed for general category students.

The come-and-play scheme of the sports ministry allowed to open stadiums refurbished  during Common Wealth Games (CWG) to government schools, colleges and other associations to host sports events.Government run educational instituions that have shown a history of commitment to sports can now book the various stadiums for Rs 1,000 a day.

As for fire safety standards in government-run schools, the government found that 1,591 schools out of the 3,660 in the national capital, which applied for Fire Safety Certificate, do not have prescribed fire safety measures have asked to rectify the shortcomings.

Scholarships

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) have proposed to scholarships worth Rs 5,000 for three consecutive years to encourage meritorious students in its schools for pursuing higher education.

Thus, each student will be eligible to receive consolidated financial aid of Rs 15,000. The proposal has recently been approved in the Budget of the Education Committee, which will be placed before the House for final approval.

From over two lakh children with special needs in Delhi, only less than one percent are in schools. In the area of giving provisions to the special need children a survey done this year showed 2,039 unaided recognised private schools (1,260 schools recognised by the department of education, government of NCT of Delhi and 779 MCD schools), 258 aided recognised private schools (214 aided by department of education, government of NCT of Delhi and 44 aided by MCD) in Delhi, almost all these schools do not have provisions of basic physical as well as academic infrastructure including special educators, which are required for the education of children with special needs.

An allocation of Rs 52,057 crore, an increase of 24 percent was proposed over the previous year in the Union Budget 2011, with a focus on universalising access to secondary education, increasing scholars in higher education and providing skills training.