Parents of Class 8 EWS Students of BBPS Dwaraka Allegedly Pressured to Pay Fee or Withdraw Admission

The Bal Bharati Public School (BBPS) in Dwarka is currently making headlines after parents of Class 8 students were allegedly asked to pay fees or withdraw their children from the school. According to The Indian Express, parents of Class 8 students from the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) and Disadvantaged Group (DG) categories at BBPS Dwarka were taken aback when they received a communication to that effect. Parents have now written to the Directorate of Education (DoE), Delhi requesting intervention after the school had earlier asked them to pay fees from Class 9 onwards.

The Indian Express reported that a parent of a Class 8 student in the EWS category stated that they were informed that the quota is only valid until Class 8. Following that, students will need to obtain a transfer certificate (TC) or be admitted under the general category. About 48 of these students are dealing with this problem.

The quota in question is imposed under the Right to Education Act, which requires Delhi’s private schools to reserve at least 25 per cent of entry-level seats for EWS, DG, and Children With Special Needs (CWSN) candidates and provide free and necessary education till they pass Class 8.

In addition, Bal Bharati Public School (BBPS) is on the Department of Education’s list of private schools that are granted land by government entities.

On similar lines, the Delhi High Court modified a previous ruling made by a single-judge bench of the court earlier this month, allowing children from households earning up to Rs 2.5 lakh annually to apply for admission to schools in the nation’s capital under the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) quota. A single high court judge’s ruling on December 5, 2023, raising the threshold income ceiling from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 5 lakh yearly, was stayed by a bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Manmeet PS Arora until the government changed the appropriate legislation.