Delhi was among the first states to implement the Right to Education (RTE) Act in 2011, obligating private schools to allocate 25 per cent of their seats to students from economically weaker sections (EWS), free of cost from classes 1 to 8. However, the experiences of EWS students in Delhi’s elite private schools have been mixed. This is Part 3 of a three-part series that looks at these students’ differing realities. Read Part 1 & Part 2.
New Delhi: When she was just about 14 years old, Megha Rawat came to a sobering realisation. As an economically weaker section (EWS) student at the posh South Delhi Public School in Defence Colony, she didn’t have the “luxury of taking time” to mull over career choices like her well-heeled classmates, she says. Instead, she had to quickly figure out a way to earn a living and support her parents right after school.
“Finding money to pursue expensive courses like my peers was not an option for me so I had to make a decision from the immediate resources available at hand. Although my school staff and friends were supportive, at the end of the day, I was aware of the difference in our financial status,” Megha says.
That’s when she decided to focus on developing her talent for athletics and dedicated herself to track-running with support from her physical education teacher.
Her efforts have paid off. Now 18, Megha is a zonal sprint champion, a part-time ultimate frisbee coach at Ashoka University in Haryana’s Sonepat, and a first-generation college-goer studying for her BA English Honours at the prestigious Miranda House in Delhi University.
“I won a gold medal in the 100-, 200- and 800-metre track running at the zonal level in 2022, when I was in class 12. I made not only my family proud but also my school,” Megha says over the phone from Bengaluru, where she is participating in a tournament.
“I got featured in the school magazine and my principal and sports teacher gave me a prize amount of Rs 2,500 during the school assembly. It will always be a shining moment in my life,” she further recalls.
Megha, who lives with her family in Delhi’s Kailash Colony, is proud of having earned admission to Miranda House through her own efforts under the sports quota and of being able to support herself financially.
“I earn about Rs 6,000 per month, which helps me fund my daily commute to college and gives me room to save some money for my future education,” she says, adding that she dreams of becoming the “best sports instructor” in Delhi.
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‘Small things sometimes made me feel bad’
Megha says she found support among her classmates at her private school, but she was always aware of the financial burdens her parents faced.
Her father Harendra Singh Rawat works as an Uber driver, and her mother Anita works as a caretaker on a school bus during the day and as a house-help in the evening. With a combined monthly income of around Rs 30,000, they struggled to pay for “extras” such as events and school outings for Megha and her older brother, Mohit, who also attended the same school and is currently pursuing a B.Com from Delhi University.
From annual functions to school trips, the 18-year-old reminisces about instances when she had to let go of some little pleasures because she knew that her family couldn’t afford them. On top of this, being surrounded by children who had an abundance of resources would occasionally dampen her spirit.
“There were small things which would really make me feel bad sometimes,” Megha says. “At the annual school events, our mother would give us a fixed amount of Rs 100–200. There would be food stalls and dance parties, and my friends would buy everything from those stalls and then go for the dance. For us, it was a choice — either we go for the dance or buy something to eat.”
Even the annual school trips would leave an aftertaste of sadness.
“Since the fee for field trips would vary between Rs 500 and Rs 15,000, depending on their length of stay, we never pressured our parents to send us. Sometimes they would send my brother, once or twice I have gone as well. But we knew how hard our parents were working and did not want to stress them,” Megha says.
Another EWS student from Megha’s class, speaking to ThePrint on condition of anonymity, says such experiences rankled at first, but they eventually grew accustomed to them.
“After coming back from a trip, our classmates would talk about it for a day or two and then it would become old news. By the time we became teenagers, we got used to it. It stopped bothering me as much as it used to,” Megha’s friend says, speaking in a polished accent. Overall, she feels studying in a private school has given her an edge.
“I dress and communicate better than the children in my colony, I even have a broader mindset than them. With the exposure that I got, I am now studying to do a course in hotel management and want to become a pastry chef. Had I gone to a government school I would not have known of such a career choice,” she says.
Megha, chiming in with her friend over a conference call, says that her schooling helped her develop better behaviours than some of her neighburhood peers too.
“The children near my house who go to government schools start abusing at the slightest inconvenience. I don’t think that is right. Had my parents put me in such a school, I would have probably become like them as well,” she says.
Conquering an obstacle course
Megha has taken the first steps towards becoming an independent woman, but the road has been long and arduous. From balancing work, training, and education to convincing her father to allow her to participate in outstation tournaments, challenges have arisen at every turn.
Due to her family’s limited income, funding for her training was not a priority. However, as she began to achieve success, her parents started supporting her to the best of their abilities.
Speaking to ThePrint on a call from the school bus, Anita, Megha’s mother, reveals that her husband was initially apprehensive about their daughter travelling outside the city for tournaments. However, he has had a change of heart now, she adds.
“After seeing Megha’s success and how she was only making us proud with her dedicated hard work, her father’s attitude eased a little. She now goes for all competitions and tournaments,” 39-year-old Anita says.
She points out that she does her best to support her daughter too.
“I work two jobs and manage the household on my own. I never pressured her to help me with household chores, she is free to practice and train with whatever resources are available,” Anita adds.
Megha trains every day to improve her performance in upcoming tournaments and to fulfill her ambition of becoming an ace sports instructor, dedicating at least two to three hours every day to her workouts.
“I wake up at 5 am and spend one hour working out. Then I practice the other sports that I play. I go to college and after coming back I practice my track running and run about 5-10 km thrice a week,” she says.
While Megha wishes she could have access to the fancy facilities that some other sprint runners do, she believes in her abilities.
“I aim to become the best sports instructor in the city. I may be a woman or an EWS student but that doesn’t define me. That doesn’t limit me,” Megha says.
This report has been updated to reflect that Megha Rawat is a part-time ultimate frisbee coach at Ashoka University, and not an athletics instructor. The error is regretted.
(Edited by Anumeha Saxena)
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