Quota For EWS: Odisha Child Rights Panel Tells Private Schools To Follow Guidelines

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (OSCPCR) has told the private schools to strictly follow its guidelines to ensure the reservation for economically weaker section (EWS) and disadvantaged groups.

In a reply to the Director, Elementary Education in this regard, the OSCPCR said since the parents and their children of such groups are not acquainted with the online system, they remain deprived of the government’s reservation policy for them. Considering this, the Commission has issued a set of guidelines to the schools.

In order to enable them to access the information smoothly, the Commission said the seats allocated to the schools as per reservation for economically weaker sections and disadvantaged groups should remain vacant, if those are not filled.

The schools should also inform the district education officer (DEO) about the number of seats and admission to those seats should be made throughout the year. The DEO should form a committee involving DCPO, DSWO, DWO, DSSO and NGOs working on child rights to identify such children in the district and link them to the RTE Paradasrshi portal.

The Commission further said the schools and the DEO offices should display a hoarding mentioning the reservation provisions in local language at a strategic place for the people to see. Besides, the schools should depute a person who would help the guardians in loading the data on the portal.