Chandigarh: 19 out of 74 recognised private schools get minority status

Chanchal Singh, Deputy Director (School Education), said, “The decision to extend minority status to schools was taken by the government in order to ensure that religious and linguistic minorities are able to set up schools to cater to their communities. However, the majority of these institutions which have now claimed the minority status are not working for the welfare of the communities. Instead they are just seeking the minority status to avoid giving 25 per cent of the seats to EWS students.”

[related-post]

As per the Right to Education Act of 2009, recognised private schools are mandated to give 25 per cent of their seats to students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds at the time of admission. In 2014, the Supreme Court had, however, exempted minority educational institutions from giving this reservation.

“The majority of the schools in Chandigarh that now have the minority status sought this status after 2009, which explains a lot in itself. The admission guidelines of some of these schools do not even reflect that they give preference to children from religious or linguistic minorities,” Singh added.

The latest addition to the list of minority educational institutions in Chandigarh is Vivek High School, Sector 38. The school had applied for minority status in 2012 on the grounds that it was being run by members of the Sikh community. Even though the Chandigarh Educational Department had raised objections claiming that the school was vying for the minority status to avoid giving 25 per cent seats to EWS students, the NCMEI granted the minority status to Vivek High School on February 4. “The NCMEI has looked into our statement, and also the objections that were raised against us. The minority status was our constitutional right, and has been rightfully extended to us,” said H S Mamik, chairperson of Vivek High School.

Mamik added, “Instead of challenging the minority status that is being availed by private schools, the education department needs to focus on providing quality education at the government schools that are under them.”

The UT Education Department had also challenged the minority status of St Kabir School, Sector 26, despite it being recognised by the NCMEI. The status was challenged on the memorandum of agreement which the school had signed with the UT Education Department, when it was allotted land at a concessional rate, as per Rule 20 of the Chandigarh Lease Hold of Sites and Buildings Rule of 1973. Since the land was allotted by the state, the school is now being asked to abide by the norms set by the UT Administration and at least give 15 per cent reservation, if not 25 per cent, to the EWS students.

However, in the regional conference of the NCMEI in Chandigarh on Friday, chairperson of NCMEI Zafar Agha had reiterated that no quota is applicable to minority educational institutions.

Gurpreet Bakshi, chairperson of St. Kabir School, said, “The UT Education Department cannot challenge the minority status of our school, as it is indeed working for a religious minority.”