New Delhi: Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS), the autonomous body that manages Kendriya Vidyalaya schools across India, is reviewing its decision to put Member of Parliament and other discretionary quotas for admissions “on hold”, and a final order will be released soon, ThePrint has learnt.
KVS sources told ThePrint that a final order will be released soon.
Kendriya Vidyalayas are central government schools managed by KVS, which decides on admission policies and other administrative issues.
In a circular dated 12 April 2022, KVS had stated that “no admissions should be done under the Special Provisions (under part 1 pf Part B) till further orders”.
Under the discretionary quotas or the “Special Provisions”, the education minister, MPs, officials of the KVS, Delhi Development Authority and other government officials can recommend children for admission. According to the rules, there is a fixed number of admissions each official can recommend. For example, each MP is allowed to recommend the names of 10 students every academic year.
‘Overcrowding’
It was, however, felt that schools were getting overcrowded because of admissions through the special provision, and hence there was a need to put it on hold.
Sources in the Ministry of Education informed that 35,000 to 40,000 admissions were taking place annually on an average under the discretionary quotas.
“There are 17 categories in the Special Provisions for admissions, and we are currently reviewing which can be kept and which ones should be done away with. The schools are getting too overcrowded because of the additional admissions, and it was becoming difficult to manage the required student-teacher ratio. Hence, we had to put this on hold,” said a KVS official.
Another source said the purpose for which KVs were established was to give space to children of government employees who are transferred regularly due to work, or Army personnel who get posted in difficult areas. But gradually, the number of children from other families has started increasing.
According to data obtained from KVS by ThePrint in 2019, the proportion of children who are from government employee families in KVs dropped to 47 per cent in 2017-18 from 60 per cent in 2011-12.
The first source quoted above informed that the proportion has dropped further to below 30 per cent currently. “It is being felt that the purpose for which KVs were constructed is not being fulfilled,” the source added.
An email sent by ThePrint to the Ministry of Education’s PIB division for a comment did not elicit a response. This report will be updated once it does.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)