A rich businessman was arrested on Saturday for having faked poverty to get his son admitted to Sanskriti School under the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) category four years ago. Gaurav Goel had forged various documents and posed as a slum dweller. He ran out of luck during verification when he pushed for his second child’s admission to the prominent school in Delhi’s diplomatic enclave Chanakyapuri.

Under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009, all private unaided recognised schools, except for minority institutions, have to keep 25% of their total seats in entry-level classes reserved for EWS students whose parents earn less than Rs 1 lakh a year.

It’s a different matter that Goel lives in his south Delhi apartment, and has travelled abroad at least 24 times in the past eight years. He owns an MRI lab and a wholesale business of selling pulses. He reminded many of another rich Delhi businessman played by Irrfan Khan in last year’s movie ‘Hindi Medium’. But the plot in Delhi runs much deeper — far beyond the similarities between life and art.  

Every year, thousands of parents scramble for their children’s admission in private schools under the EWS as well as the Disadvantaged Group (DG) categories. DG applicants include SC, ST, OBC, non-creamy layer, physically challenged, orphan, transgender and children with HIV.

But many of these seats are usurped through frauds. About 1,000 students got admissions across Delhi from 2013 to 2015 with fake EWS certificates, the police said in 2016 in its investigation covering only 200 schools. More such cases have surfaced since then.

Mohammad Sayeed works at a shoe factory in north Delhi’s Mustafabad. He applied at 18 schools in 2016-17. Last year, he applied at 20 schools, but could not get a seat for his daughter. “Either seats are going to the likes of Goel or schools are selling them for general category students. This is a mockery of RTE,” he says.  

Sayeed’s daughter crossed the age limit (6 years) for entry-level admissions this year. “She is now studying in a local school she did not want to go to. I hope my son will get a nursery seat in a good school next year,” he says.

Officials have their own defence. “The disappointment among parents is mostly because the number of applications is four times the number of seats available,” says an official at the Delhi government’s Directorate of Education (DoE). In Delhi, 1,700 private schools offer 1.5 lakh entry-level seats, of which 25 per cent (37,500) is reserved for EWS/DG students.

But schools have also been reluctant to fill these reserved seats for obvious reasons. In its affidavit filed before the Delhi High Court last year, DoE put the number of available reserved seats in 2017-18 at 31,000 — only 20,000 filled and 11,000 vacant.   

“DoE has given differing figures for EWS/DG seats available at various times. In February last year, it said 1.2 lakh applications were received for 31,000 seats. In another affidavit in November, it cut down the intake figure to 28,000 and said 20,000 were filled, says advocates Khagesh Jha. DoE officials say the problem is because schools do not give the exact number of seats available.

When DoE issued the first list of selected candidates on March 15, complaints of multiple entries started surfacing. Many parents claimed that the names of some candidates are mentioned multiple times in the computerised draw of lots results released by DoE. The issue was not resolved, but complaints of parents having trouble in getting their kids admitted started pouring in.

Some parents complain of school asking tuition fees or money for uniform/books, some asked for Aadhaar or ration cards in children’s name. “My son was allotted a sought-after private school in south Delhi, but when I went there, I was asked to pay Rs 1,600 for a booklet and an ID card; some activity fees; and Rs 3,000 for books and uniform. I earn Rs 8,000 per month. When I told them about my status, they asked me to return with an income certificate,” says Sankat Singh, a vegetable vendor in east Delhi’s Patparganj. This was despite the fact that DoE had warned schools against denying admissions on frivolous grounds. It had said that they cannot ask for Aadhaar cards of students and income certificates from parents.

Some parents claim schools turned them away because their wards’ names were on the wait list. However, no such list has been issued by the government. “We have approached the school as many as eight times since March 15. We don’t know what to do,” says a parent in Rohini. In 2016, the Delhi government had moved to a system of centralised online admissions following complaints from parents that schools turned them away, and refused application forms. However, the change has brought little relief for parents.

NCR Worse

The situation is much worse in Delhi’s neighbouring towns such as Noida, Ghaziabad, Hapur (Uttar Pradesh) Gurugram and Faridabad (Haryana). In UP, there are 7 lakh EWS/DG entry-level seats. “The number of admissions has never touched the 1 lakh mark. In 2016-17, only 17,000 seats were filled,” says Ekramul Haque of NGO Mission Taleem. The state government has not released the data for 2017-18.

Until last year, parents had to follow a distance criterion that said children within 3 km of schools would be admitted. This year, the government said parents can apply for schools that are in their municipal wards. The move has created confusion as hundreds of wards went through a process of delimitation ahead of the civic elections in December.

Missing Schools

In Hapur city, 60 km from Delhi, the number of wards went up to 42 from 36. Some wards have only two-three schools left. Some have just one. When parents apply online, ward number 21 that has 1,000 houses shows only Pushpanjali Public School as an option. “The school can enrol a maximum of 30 students under EWS/DG quota. However, 50 forms from the locality have been filled. Where will these children go?” asks Sayyeed Ikram, a volunteer, who is helping parents.

On March 23, the government released the results of the first draw of lots. “We didn’t get a seat for our four-year-old this year. This happened last year as well. We cannot even wait for a second list when we have only one school here,” says Vijay Pal Singh, a mechanic. Parents are supposed to upload all documents online and then reduce file size to 100KB before submitting forms. There are hardly any camps or helpdesks available to help them.

Volunteers also allege that some schools do not show up in any ward. “Tagore Public School and Delhi Public School are such schools. We have raised the issue with the Basic Shiksha Adhikari (BSA) here. But, nothing has changed,” says Ikram. The struggle continues even after a child’s name has appeared on the March 23 list.

“The list does not mention the name of the school,” says Radha, a domestic help and a single mother. She has been making rounds to the BSA office for help. The second list is expected to come on April 16. Radha is hopeful for her four-year-old. Hapur BSA Devendra Kumar says there are some technical glitches and school names will appear on the second list.

The ‘Interactions’

Private schools in Noida and Ghaziabad are violating RTE  by conducting interviews of students and their parents for EWS/DG quota admissions. Several parents say their children were asked to identify fruits, colours, flowers and recite poems during “interactions”. “My son was asked to identify geometrical shapes and colours at two private schools in Noida. He gave correct answers, but he was not selected,” says Deepshikha Kumari, who works at a beauty parlour in Sector-51.

Some parents also allege that schools are asking about their education, working hours and lifestyle. “I was asked about my education. I was told that I won’t be able to take care of my child’s studies as I am not educated,” says a parent. Experts say there is a need for a regulatory body. “There is no criteria for age bar, calendar and fee refund process. Every school is setting its own rules,” says Sumit Vohra, who runs an admission portal.

Haryana Hurdles

In Haryana, RTE is applicable only in Class I. The Haryana Education Rules direct private schools to reserve 10 per cent seats for EWS/DG students from Class II to XII. “I wanted nursery admission for my son in a good private school in Faridabad. But there is no EWS quota in entry-level classes here. I had to enrol him in a government school,” says Poonam Kumari, a community health worker. In Faridabad, the 500-odd schools offered 50,000 EWS/DG seats last year, but only 350 students got admission, says Haque.

Schools demand proper implementation of the RTE Act and say it is difficult for them to take students in intermediate classes every year. “It’s easier to accommodate EWS/DG students in entry-level classes than in random intermediate classes where seats are limited,” says the principal of a private school.

Even Class II admissions in Haryana are not easy. “My wife and I are uneducated but we want our daughter to study in a good private school from Class II. She will take her assessment test on April 15. We have spent Rs 5,000 on her tuition for its preparation,” says Sanjay Singh, a rickshaw-puller, who earns around Rs 8,000 a month.

Class Apart

THE RULES

• Under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009, all private unaided recognised schools, except for minority institutions, have to keep  
• 25% of their total seats in entry-level classes reserved for EWS category that covers kids whose parents earn less than Rs 1 lakh a year.

THE REALITY

• But many of these seats are usurped through frauds. About 1,000 students got admissions across Delhi from 2013 to 2015 with fake EWS certificates, the police said in 2016 in its investigation covering only 200 schools. More such cases have surfaced since then.  
• In its affidavit filed before the Delhi High Court last year, DoE put the number of available reserved seats in 2017-18 at 31,000 — only 20,000 filled and 11,000 vacant.  

NCR WOES

• The situation is much worse in Delhi’s neighbouring towns such as Noida, Ghaziabad, Hapur (Uttar Pradesh) Gurugram and Faridabad (Haryana). Private schools in Noida and Ghaziabad are violating RTE  by conducting interviews of students and their parents for EWS/DG quota admissions. Several parents say their children were asked to identify fruits, colours, flowers and recite poems during ‘interactions’. Some parents also allege that schools are asking about their education, working hours and lifestyle.