Delhi CM takes credit for help not 'extended'

It was 10:30 am, when Mohammad Sayeed, who works at a shoe factory in Mustafabad, received a call from his wife saying that a letter from Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was delivered at their doorstep. Curious, the 36-year-old took a half day and rushed home only to be left aghast as the CM had congratulated him for his daughter's admission in a private school, under the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) category, that never happened.

"Heartiest congratulations to your ward's admission in a good private school. It's difficult to enroll in a good school nowadays. There was a time when people had to pay middlemen thousands of rupees to get admissions. Our government has changed that tradition," the letter signed by Kejriwal reads.

It further said the admission happened due to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government's constant efforts to curb corruption. "We have saved a lot of money to serve you by putting an end to corruption in government works," it said.

A confused Sayeed called on the number mentioned in the letter to make sure it was not a prank. "I was told the letter was issued from the Delhi Secretariat under the government's direct outreach programme to the beneficiaries of welfare schemes," he said. When he informed that his daughter did not get any admission, Sayeed was told his name was in the list of beneficiaries as per the government record.

"I had applied in at least 18 schools in 2016-17 and then in 20 schools last year, but could not get a seat for my daughter. For us this letter is like adding salt to our wounds," he said.

Sayeed is once again bracing to go through the "tedious" process of entry-level admission under the EWS category that is going to start from January 22.

Sayeed is not alone; a similar letter was delivered to several other parents, including Rati Ram, a lorry driver in Badarpur. "I was furious when my elder son read the letter out to me. It was like a slap in the face. Despite applying in more than 10 schools, we could not get a seat for my son in a private school last year," he said. His son Raunak is presently enrolled in a Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) school.

In October last year, Kejriwal had announced he would send 52,000 letters to the beneficiaries of welfare schemes, including 31,000 to those parents whose wards got admission in private schools under the EWS category. "There must be some error in the delivery of these letters. We will look into the matter," a senior official at the Directorate of Education (DoE) said.

Meanwhile, Ekramul Haque of NGO mission Taleem, who has also received similar complaints from parents, said the government should provide mid-term admissions to these children as they have already been on its beneficiaries list. "According to a recent affidavit filled in the Delhi High Court by the DoE itself, 11,000 seats under the EWS quota were lying vacant in private schools across the capital. Why can't the government fill them now?

They should carry forward these vacancies this year and help these parents to enroll their children in good schools."

As per the Right to Education (RTE) Act, 2009, 25 per cent seats are reserved for EWS and DG (Disadvantaged Group) students in all private unaided recognised schools.

MISPLACED GESTURE

• Delhi CM sends out letters to parents, congratulating them for their wards’ admissions that never happened
• Though many of them had applied in private schools, under the EWS category, they were rejected