Girl's Right To Education Being Violated In Delhi Schools

Just nine months after the Right to Education Act was implemented in India, promising free and compulsory education to all children in the age group of  6-14, over 10,000 cases of violation have been registered by a child rights body in the capital. Some were denied admission, some were subjected to corporal punishment and others were denied the benefit of the economically weaker section quota.

According to the Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR) Chairman Amod Kanth the body has registered 10,500 cases of RTE Act violation since its implementation. "As per the RTE Act, the DCPCR monitors its implementation in Delhi. Cases were registered which involve violations of at least 15 kinds, like screening tests before admissions, corporal punishment, admission denial, mental harassment and others," Kanth said.

"Initially, suo motu cognisance of media reports were taken, but gradually parents started approaching  and now it seems like the floodgates have opened. Wherever required, we approach the school authority concerned and the compliance level is as high as 95 per cent," he added.

The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act was enforced April 1, 2010. The Act promises free and compulsory education to all children in the age group of 6-14. Among others, it says no child shall be denied admission for lack of documents or if the admission cycle in the school is over. Disabled students should also be enrolled in mainstream schools. The violations registered by DCPCR have been on the same lines.

• In one case, 10 girls living in Delhi's Azadpur area were denied admission to a school in Classes 6 to 8 because they could not provide school leaving certificates. The girls were tutored at home. "The commission intervened and issued a notice to the school principal after which the girls were admitted to the Government Girls Senior Secondary School, Azadpur," a DCPCR document revealed.
• In another case, a physically handicapped father approached the commission after his daughter was denied admission under the EWS quota in a public school at Shalimar Bagh, northwest Delhi. In yet another instance, a Class 5 child was asked to take admission elsewhere on complaint of his "poor hygiene" and behaviour, prompting his parents to approach the commission. A notice was issued to the school after which the girl was given admission under the quota, while in the other case the child was taken back to the school after counselling.