Only 44 apply for 5,647 special quota seats in private schools

NEW DELHI: The Directorate of Education (DOE) has not received enough applications to fill 5,647 vacant seats reserved for children with disabilities (CWD) in private schools.

In the fourth round of admissions to fill these seats, the department received only 44 applications. The directorate has now decided to hold another round of admissions.

Hindustan Times had on September 10 reported that 86.9% seats reserved for children with disabilities across private schools in Delhi were still lying vacant even as the academic session entered the sixth month.

The directorate attributed the vacancies to fewer applications but experts said there was lack of effort to sensitise and motivate parents to send their children to non-specialised schools.

A senior DOE official on Monday said the department will invite applications for the fifth and last round. “Despite inviting online applications, only 44 applied. This is after the government intensified advertisements on radio and print to make parents aware about the vacancies. We are conducting a last round because after that preparations for the next admissions to entrylevel classes will begin,” the official said, who wished not to be named.

In Delhi, 3% of the total seats available in entry-level classes— nursery, kindergarten and class 1—in private schools are reserved for persons with disabilities. The DOE had invited applications for around 6,500 such reserved seats in the academic session 2019-20. Out of these, roughly 850 have been filled.

Disability rights’ activist Satendra Singh said the number of applicants should have been increased after the addition of more categories under the Rights for Persons with Disabilities Act in 2016. “It’s very surprising parents are not applying. It shows there is an immense need to intensify the existing outreach mechanism,” he said.

T D Dhariyal, state Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities, said his department will take suo moto notice.

“There is need to expand outreach programmes to the colony level and rope in residents welfare associations. The DOE needs to take parents, especially those from economically challenged families, into confidence and make them understand that their children can get free education in private schools. Parents having means can easily afford specialised schools. This reservation is most important for students from poor families,” he said.