Parents of BBPS Dwaraka Class 8 EWS Students Are Said to Have Faced Pressure to Pay Fee or Give Up Admission

The parents of Class 8 students at the Bal Bharati Public School (BBPS) in Dwarka are reportedly being asked to pay fees or remove their children from the school, which has put the institution in the news. The Indian Express reports that parents of BBPS Dwarka Class 8 pupils who fall under the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) and Disadvantaged Group (DG) classifications were shocked to receive a notification to that effect. Parents who were previously required to pay fees starting in Class 9 have now written to the Directorate of Education (DoE), Delhi, asking for action.

According to an article in The Indian Express, a parent of a kid in the EWS category in Class 8 said they were told the quota is only good until Class 8. After that, students must either be accepted under the general category or get a transfer certificate (TC). Of these kids, around 48 are struggling with this issue.

The Right to Education Act, which mandates that Delhi’s private schools reserve at least 25% of entry-level seats for EWS, DG, and Children With Special Needs (CWSN) applicants and offer free and required education till they graduate Class 8, is the legal basis for the quota in dispute.

Additionally, Bal Bharati Public School (BBPS) is included among the private schools that get land grants from government agencies by the Department of Education.

Similarly, the Delhi High Court overturned an earlier decision rendered earlier this month by a single-judge bench of the court, permitting children from households earning up to Rs 2.5 lakh a year to apply for admission to schools in the capital under the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) quota. A panel made up of Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Manmeet PS Arora delayed a single high court judge’s decision on December 5, 2023, increasing the threshold income cap from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 5 lakh annually, till the government updated the relevant law.