Schools flag dubious EWS seat applicants

GURUGRAM: After dubious cases of EWS (economically weaker section) admissions were caught in Delhi, the same has been reported from two private schools in Gurugram.
One parent who had applied for an EWS seat for his ward in Colonel’s Central Academy (CCA) has a car and owns a taxi business. Another parent who had applied in the same category at DAV School in Sector 14 was found to be from a middle-class family.

Private schools in the city have now written to the education department, seeking time to verify the credentials of EWS parents before admitting their children.

Colonel Pratap Singh, chairman of CCA, said, “We recently spotted a parent who had applied for a seat for his ward in the school under the EWS category. The man owns a car and doesn’t seem to be one from the low-income group. The man recently bought a WagonR and runs it as a cab.”

However, the parent told TOI, “I purchased the car for Rs 1.8 lakh, what crime have I committed? There is nothing wrong that I have put my car for commercial use in a hotel. I am driving it myself.” He also claimed to be staying in a rented accommodation and earning less than Rs 10,000 a month.

In DAV School, one parent had submitted an income certificate of less than Rs 2 lakh per annum for admitting her ward under the EWS category. But the school claimed to have found out that the monthly income of the family is close to Rs 40,000.

Aparna Erry, principal of DAV School, said, “When we investigated about the parent’s financial status, we found out that the family doesn’t belong to the EWS category. We wrote to the education department and the admission has been cancelled.”

On other reasons for the delay in admission under the EWS category, Col Singh said, “A number of parents are not even submitting the BPL cards and income certificates for admissions. In these cases, we can’t admit their wards in the school.”