In Class XII, the number of these subjects increases to 40 to include subjects such as medical diagnostics, textile design, salesmanship, music production and business administration.An EWS (economically weaker section) student of a private school was detained in Class I and his parents were told by school authorities that he is no longer eligible for free education because of his weak academic performance. As per the Right to Education Act 2009, no child in a school can be held back in any class or expelled from school till the completion of elementary education, which is till Class VIII.
This provision, known as ‘no-detention policy’, was amended earlier this year, enabling state governments to allow schools to hold back a child but only in Class V or VIII if they fail a re-examination. Even then, schools cannot expel a child before completion of elementary education.
Last month, the parents of the eight-year-old child were handed his annual report card by Apollo Convent School, Holambi Kalan, where he had been studying for the last two years. The report card stated he had been detained.
“School authorities told us because he had failed, his eligibility for EWS quota has been cancelled. We were told if he is to continue studying in the school, we need to pay the full fee and if we cannot do that, we should collect his transfer certificate and admit him to an MCD school. Asking for fees is basically expelling him, because his father is a vegetable vendor who cannot afford to pay,” said the boy’s uncle.
The school told The Indian Express they cannot be expected to carry the burden of the child repeating a class. “Can we continue providing free education for the extra years of his schooling after detaining a child?”said principal Kiran Tyagi. As per provisions of the RTE Act and the Delhi RTE Rules, the expenses borne by private schools to provide free education are reimbursed by the state government on a per-child basis.
When told that they are legally disallowed from detaining a child in Class I, Tyagi said, “The child cannot even write the alphabet. How can we let him be promoted to the next class? Every class has a prescribed syllabus and if a child cannot complete and clear that, how can we let them into the next? It is not good for his life. We called the parents and told them about his weak performance but they don’t do anything about it.”
The boy’s uncle said his parents are uneducated and unable to help with studies: “The child is a slow learner and has difficulty grasping things. He goes for tuitions, which are of little help.”
On Thursday, the parents sent a complaint by post to the Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights. The complaint, which is yet to be received by the commission, is signed by the father and states, “I am a working class person. I am only capable of educating my child through EWS quota. I appeal to you to please examine this matter and deliver justice to my son.”
Apollo Convent School was established in 2004 and in 2013, it was provisionally recognised till Class VIII by the Delhi government’s Directorate of Education. The monthly tuition fee for Class I is Rs 1,255 and the school levies other charges like transportation.
