Remarkable Order by Hon’ble Mayor EDMC for admission of children in Primary Schools

Mayor, EDMC passes a remarkable order for implementation of RTE Act It is clearly mentioned in the Right of Children to Free & Compulsory Education Act 2009 that if parents don’t have birth certificate of their child or the proof of residence at the time of admission, the child will not be denied admission. Those parents who don’t have any document will submit a self-declaration about the date of birth of child on a plain paper. But the reality is something totally different as at the time of admission, parents are asked to produce birth certificate of the child, residence proof, or rent agreement; and if they fail to do so, they are simply denied admission of their child. Not only this, principals of most of the schools force desperate parents to submit date of birth of child on a Stamp Paper worth Rs. 50/=. This has resulted in thousands of children being deprived of schooling every year. In this context, Pardarshita submitted a written representation to the Hon’ble Mayor Dr. Annapurna Mishra, in which it was demanded that the admission of the children should not be denied if the parents don’t have any documents. Considering our representation, the Hon’ble Mayor, keeping in view the best interest of the children, has ordered the Municipal Commissioner, EDMC to ensure that a board be displayed outside all MCD schools on which it is should be clearly mentioned that those parents who don’t have birth certificate of child or residence proof, their child will still be admitted. They can declare date of birth of their child on a simple white paper and they don’t need to file any affidavit on stamp paper.

On behalf of the needy suffering parents, we thank the Mayor for handing out this much needed Order. Implementation of the law is the biggest challenge of this country and poor implementation has rendered many good laws, useless. Political will is most important if we want good laws actually being put to work on field. Honorable Mayor EDMC has shown her commitment to fullfiling the law not just in letter but even in spirit. We believe, this step by the Mayor shall give a bright future to tens of thousands of children, who would have otherwise languished on streets, or would have indulged in begging, or child labor, or would have got entangled in drug abuse or juvenile crime.

Warmly,

Rajiv Kumar

Following is the letter by the Mayor, and a sample of how this Order will look like on display:-

This is regarding Right of Children to Free & Compulsory Education Act which has been enacted since April 2009. As per the provision of this Act the children of 6-14 years will not be denied for admission if the parents don’t have either birth certificate of child or residence proof.

According to a submission received by my office from Pardarshita, an NGO, some schools are asking the parents to produce the residence proof/birth certificate/ rent agreement/ affidavit if they want to admit their child. If the parents fail to produce these documents their child are not getting admission.

This is in clear violation of RTE act and such practices cannot be allowed and will not be tolerated.

In consultation with Education committee chairman Shri Harsh Malhotra, I have decided that to ensure free and fair admission process and strict adherence to RTE Act, A board outside each MCD school should be displayed with a note that if the parents do not have any document still their child will get admission in the school. By displaying such board outside the schools thousands of children would be benefited and could get education without facing any difficulty, which is their Right now.

This would be the responsibility of Education Director and School Principals to ensure that these boards are displayed before commencement of new admission process this year.

The sample board is enclosed with this letter.

Dr. Annapurna Mishra

Commissioner, EDMC

CC:

Chairman, Education Committee

Director, Education, EDMC

Enclosed: Sample Board

दाखिले के लिए सूचना शिक्षा का अधिकार 2009 के तहत 6 से 14 वर्ष के आयु  के सभी बच्चों को स्कूल में दाखिला मिलने व शिक्षा पाने का अधिकार है। दाखिले के लिए किसी भी बच्चे को मना नहीं क्या जाएगा, बच्चे का दाखिला उनकी आयु के हिसाब से संबन्धित क्लास में किया जाएगा और किसी प्रकार का टेस्ट नहीं लिया जायेगा। दाखिले के लिए निवास प्रमाण पत्र व बच्चे के जन्म प्रमाण के लिए निम्नलिखित दस्तावेज़ आप जमा कर सकते हैं: निवास का प्रमाण (कोई एक दस्तावेज): ·         बिजली/पानी/टेलीफ़ोन का बिल, राशन कार्ड, चुनाव पहचान पत्र या आधार कार्ड बच्चे के जन्म का प्रमाण (कोई एक दस्तावेज़): ·         जन्म प्रमाण पत्र, अस्पताल /नर्स के रजिस्टर का रिकॉर्ड या आंगनवाड़ी रिकॉर्ड यदि किसी अभियावक या माता-पिता के पास निवास या बच्चे के जन्म का कोई प्रमाण नहीं है तो ऐसे अभिभावक या माता पिता एक सादे कागज़ पर अपने बच्चे की जन्म तिथि लिख कर घोषणा कर सकते हैं। स्टांप पेपर पर किसी प्रकार के एफ़िडेविट जमा करने की आवश्यकता नहीं है।