Special Correspondent
The government will discuss with leaders of parties whether or not every MP should have a quota to recommend 10 students to the Kendriya Vidyalayas (KVs) or central schools.
The decision came about after Lok Speaker Om Birla on Monday asked Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan to get a sense of the House after Congress member Manish Tewari flagged the issue during the Question Hour.
Mr. Tewari said the quota of 10 admissions/seats that every MP can recommend in an academic year is too less and urged that the government to either raise it 50 or scrap it altogether.
“Let the Minister hold a meeting with the leaders of political parties in the House to decide whether the MPs’ quota in central schools should be ended. Why should we have this discriminatory quota. A decision will be taken after discussions with the leaders of the parties,” Mr. Birla said.
The Speaker’s observation came after Mr. Pradhan said the government can work towards ending the quota system for MPs if the House is unanimous about it.
“We are people’s representatives. We are not representatives of a few,” the Minister said, adding that the quota was increased from the initial two to five and now 10 seats (per academic year).
However, a number of MPs opposed the move saying they often receive lots of requests and the current quota is inadequate.
“It would be very difficult to do away with it,” Trinamool Congress member Mahua Moitra said, urging the government to increase the quota.
Mr. Pradhan said the schools and the Navodaya Vidalayas were set up to cater to the needs of the wards of all–India services officers who are transferred to different parts of the country at regular intervals and in areas where central institutions are located. He said at least one central school is located in almost all districts.
Impact of pandemic on education
To a separate question on the impact of the pandemic on education, the Minister said, “The COVID–19 pandemic has severely affected the education system not only in India but also in countries across the world due to the closure of schools.”
Mr. Pradhan said the pandemic led to a situation wherein the Centre, the States and the educational institutions had to adopt online technologies and the blended mode of education at a very rapid pace to ensure students’ education continued.
Under the inclusive education component of the “Samagra Shiksha” scheme, the Minister said financial assistance is provided to States and Union Territories for identification and assessment of children with special needs, for aids and appliances, braille kits and books, appropriate teaching–learning material and stipend to girl students with disability for universalisation of school education and reducing the dropout rate.
