Special draw of lots for differently abled students likely: DOE

NEWDELHI: The Directorate of Education (DOE) may soon invite application from children with special needs and have a separate draw of lots for their admission to entry level classes in private schools under the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) and Disadvantaged Groups (DG) category.

The Right to Education Act of 2009 mandates that 25% of seats in entry level classes of private schools be reserved for EWS and DG category students, and they be admitted free of cost. This year, under the scheme, there are approximately 20,500 nursery seats, 6,000 kindergarten seats, and 15,000 Class 1 seats available in 1,500 private schools of Delhi.

Of these, during the draw of lots, the DOE had set aside 1,300 seats across the three categories for differently abled students. Saumya Gupta, the director of education at the DOE, had said that this was around 3% of the EWS seats in all private schools of Delhi.

“The legal vetting has been done and the file has been forwarded to the competent authorities. As soon as it is approved, we will start the process,” said Gupta.

The DOE had earlier said that they were seeking legal advice on the matter as they had not received as many applications from differently abled students, and would have to invite fresh applications.

“We will put out advertisements, and call for fresh applications, once it is approved by authorities. This process should be done within 5-10 days after we get the approval. We will then conduct a draw of lots,” said Gupta. She added that they had already received around 400-500 applications from differently abled students, which would also be considered for this fresh draw of lots. Children who qualify as differently abled, based on the definitions given in the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act of 2016, would be eligible for these seats.