Representatives of over 30 schools of Haryana Progressive School Council (HPSC), Gurgaon Chapter, got together to discuss various problems that the schools were facing while implementing Rule 134A and its amendments. Representatives from DPS Sector 45, KR Mangalam World School, HDFC group of schools, Colonel Central Academy, Blue Bells group of schools and several other schools were present at the discussion.
As per Rule 134A, private schools should reserve 25 per cent seats for meritorious students belonging to Economically Weaker Section (EWS) and Below Poverty Line (BPL) categories. The rule states that schools should charge same fee at the same rate as charged in government schools.
The schools claim that implementing the rule was a challenge. As a result of improper verification of EWS and BPL documents by the government, there are a number of students migrating from government to private schools.
According to Neeti C Kaushik, principal, KR Mangalam World School, “There has to be a proper verification of the documents which are used to get admission in the said category so that there is no scrutiny in the procedure.”
"The rule was put in place to ensure quality education for the underprivileged," said Colonel Kunwar Pratap Singh, president of HPSC (Gurgaon)."With no strict verification procedure in place, there is a huge migration of students from government to private schools."
Aditi Mishra, Principal of DPS sector 45 says, “We are not against the rule but the government should be balanced and think about the students who are the ones suffering at the end."
Haryana government reserves 10 per cent seats over and above the RTE rules, as per Section 134A of Haryana State Education Rules for class I to V.