Explain steps taken to ensure education of kids who lost parents to Covid: Delhi HC to Centre

The bench took note of the fact that the Ministry of Women and Child Welfare Development and the Ministry of Education on June 16, 2021, had issued a DO letter to the states to ensure continuity of education of students orphaned by Covid. While seeking an affidavit from the Centre, the court said that the Ministry of Women and Child Development may also seek instructions and information from other ministries also which may have a role to play on the issues.

The petition filed by the minors, who are class II and class VII students in a private school, through their mother seeks expeditious implementation of various schemes announced by the Delhi government and other authorities for providing compensation, ex-gratia amount and other benefits to those families who lost their sole bread-earners on account of death caused by lack of sufficient supply of medical oxygen during the second wave of pandemic.

Advocate Bharat Malhotra, representing the petitioners, had earlier told the court that the Directorate of Education has already issued a circular for continuation of studies of those children, who have become orphans due to Covid-19, in the same schools if running on DDA or government-allotted land.

The school, that is also a respondent in the case, has told the court that the fee liability for the session 2021-22 had been duly waived and the study of the petitioners has not been hampered in any manner. It also told the court that presently no coercive action is contemplated against the petitioners.

The Delhi government in a reply had earlier told the court that it has already commenced the ‘Mukhyamantri Covid-19 Pariwar Aarthik Sahayta Yojana’ under which a monthly assistance of Rs 2,500 and an ex-gratia assistance of Rs 50,000 was being provided to such families.