Members of both the ruling BJP and the Opposition Congress on Thursday grilled Education Minister Kedar Kashyap in the State Assembly on the issue of admission to poor children in private schools in the State.
The Minister said that this year 37,000 poor children had to be given admission in private schools, of which more than 31,000 were given admission. Congress member Amit Jogi and then BJP member Devji Bhai Patel shot question on the Minister during Question Hour. Amit Jogi asked the minister that how many instructions on admission of poor children into private schools issued by the department have been carried out under the Right to Education Act.
Minister Kashyap answered that so far 56,827 children have been given admission. On this, Jogi said that it was clearly written in the circular that admission has to be given to the children of weaker and deprived class on 25 per cent seats within ten days. Has it been carried outIJ
The minister said that the instructions have fully been carried out and this year, admission has been given to 37,743children. Amit Jogi said that private schools in the state have an admission capacity of 9,46,583 seats and if you have given admission to 56,000 children, it comes only 4 per cent of the total seats. As per rule, over 2.36 lakh children should have given admission. He asked, when would the remaining children be given admission. On this the minister replied that the admission capacity of the state’s private schools is only 1,54,860, its 25 per cent comes to 38,624, out of which 31,743 admissions have been given. Only 6,981 seats are remaining.
The minister said that there is a provision to give admission to children on priority within one kilometer radius, on application of parents, and effort has been made to give admission to those who have applied. Replying to the question of BJP member Devji Bhai Patel, Kashyap said that in Raipur, Durg, Bilaspur and Rajnandgaon districts, admission has been given to 867 children in 2011-12, 1164 in 2012-13 and 2862 in 2013-14 in private schools. 564 English medium private schools are operational in the four schools, He said that in 2013-14, 968 children have been admission in Raipur, 1315 in Durg, 268 in Bilaspur and 293 in Rajnandgaon district. Replying to question of another member, the minister said that no one had applied for admission in HN Goyal School.
One admission has been given in Rajkumar College, one in MGM, 8 in Holycross Campa, 14 in DPS Rajnandgaon and 6 in Bilaspur DPS.